Return of the Second Chance
by Paw Print Pajamas
Summary: The sequel to Second Chance. Harry returns for his second Second Year at Hogwarts. With new challenges and old faces.
1. Chapter 1 Old Faces

Hi, I'm back with the sequel for _Second Chance_. I hope you all enjoy this one as much as you like my first. I just want to ask you once again to read and review my other stories. Plus, I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. Now, sit back, relax, and read the sequel to _Second Chance, The Return of the Second Chance. _

Harry James Potter was tired. He was tired of the fact that his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, were bickering... again. He sighed as he banged his head against the train's cool windowpane. This action actually caused the bickering to stop. On the bad side however, this action gave him an even worse headache. Truth be told, Harry was expecting the insistent quarrelling between his friends to begin for at least two more years.

Harry thought this because he was from the future and had already lived through it all. He banged his head as he thought about how much he had changed the timeline all ready. It was so different that he kept a journal to keep track of what was what from each timeline. He knew that it wasn't the brightest of ideas but he felt as though he had no choice. It was either that or having a confused jumble for a brain.

He sighed again and turned to his friends; who were giving him concerned looks. He really hated those looks. It reminded him of the looks of pity he received during the first timeline.

"Harry, are you alright? You've been awfully quiet lately." Hermione tilted her head to the side as she asked this. Harry then looked into her eyes. He had always loved Hermione's honey-brown eyes.

"I'm fine 'Mi. I guess I'm a little tired from all that's been going on. The stress from the past year will relax when I get home. I should have listened to Remus and left after the Quidditch Final."

"Yeah, mate, we would have gone with you as well. We may have faced You-Know-Who but we still were pretty stressed out by those obstacles."

Harry didn't feel like talking about what happened under the school so he carefully changed the subject.

"So what are you all doing for the summer?" Hermione knew what he was doing but allowed him to get away with it.

"Well, I'm..." Ron interrupted her before she could answer.

"My Mum wanted me to invite you both over during the summer. Ginny likes you Hermione. Why? I don't know. I think she just might be weird." Hermione threw a Bertie Bott's Bean at him.

"As I was saying, I'm planning on spending time with my parents. It's hard to keep in contact with them when they don't use owl post."

Harry's mind once again wandered to the night he faced Quirrell. He had been having nightmares about that night. He would never forget the way that Voldemort looked at him after he left Quirrell's dead body. He was glad that he knew how to do the Silencing Charm. He didn't want to wake his dorm mates with him sudden waking up. He really had to stop thinking about those things. He knew that everything was going to be alright.

It was a few hours later when the Hogwarts Express finally arrived at Kings Cross Station. His headache was gone at that time. That was mainly because Hermione refused to talk to Ron. So there was no bickering going on between them. Harry had a smile on his face when he climbed off the train.

Sirius was waiting for him on the platform like all the other magical parents (Remus was busy getting things done at home). Even though they had seen each other only two weeks earlier, they were excited to see each other. This time they had two whole months together.

Sirius pulled Harry into a one armed hug and ruffled his already messy hair. Harry growled at him for his public display of affection. Though in reality, Harry liked the attention. This was something the Dursley's never would have done, not even with their own son. To them, affection was a private matter.

They saw Hermione was standing to the side. She was waiting patiently for Harry to greet his godfather before saying hello herself.

"Hi, Hermione. How was the rest of your school year?"

"It was wonderful. I was listed first on the class list. But I was wondering if you would meet my parents. They don't know any wizards and I thought if you met them they would be more comfortable with me being a witch. They don't understand our world; I was hoping you could help."

"No problem Hermione. I wanted to meet your parents anyway. They should know the parents of your friends. Harry is your best friend so it would only be proper. Well, we don't want to keep them waiting."

They walked through the barrier together. Harry and Hermione were dragging their trunks.

"I'm going to get some trolleys for these trunks. I swear they got heavier since the beginning of the school year. I don't think I have that much more than with what I left with."

"Did you look at the revised list that Remus gave you? He added the things you brought back to school after Christmas Break."

"Actually I didn't even bother looking at it. I just packed everything that I knew was mine."

"Remus won't be happy about that. He is a very organized person If your belongings aren't in a specific order he's going to go through everything and make sure you have everything."

Harry just groaned and ran off to get the trolleys. Sirius smiled as he watched his godson. He was happy he could just act like a kid after all that he's been through.

Jane and Rodger Granger were very nice people. It was obvious that they were proud of their daughter and had no problem that she was a witch. They just felt a little left out of her life.

Sirius was fascinated by the Grangers. He was never really able to make friends with Muggles. His parents never allowed him around one for long. He was as eager to know them as they him.

But he couldn't help but why Harry was taking so long with the trolleys. The boy was freakishly quick when needed to be.

While Sirius was with the Grangers

Harry had left the trunk with Sirius as he went to get the trolleys. His mood from the train was gone and was looking forward to going home.

Then suddenly a large beefy hand roughly grabbed his arm. He didn't even have to turn around to know who was behind him. If it weren't for the fact that his whole body was stiff he would have turned to face the man. If his throat wasn't frozen he would have screamed. He would have called for Sirius to save him. The grip on his arm tightened when the man didn't get the response that he wanted from Harry.

Vernon Dursley pulled on Harry to force him to turn around. Harry did but he found himself on the ground. He already could feel the blood flowing out of scrapped knees. Harry head was down and refused to look at his uncle.

"Get up, we're leaving."

Harry was in shock. What was his uncle doing out of prison? He was supposed to be there for a very long time. Harry didn't respond to the order.

"Did you hear me? I said that we we're going."

Harry shook himself out of his shock. He defiantly looked into Vernon's eyes before getting to his feet. But he wasn't about to follow the man out of the station.

"No." It was plain insolence. He had escaped the Dursleys. He wasn't about to go back to them. He had a family now and no one was going to take that away.

"Now listen here, boy. I don't know what they told you at that freak place but no one wants you. I was generous to let you stay at my home so, you are going to learn how to appreciate what I have done for you."

_Please come to me Paddy. _Harry's thoughts were desperate. Vernon grabbed Harry again and Harry cried out in pain. Everyone knows that it takes a lot for Harry to respond to pain but his arm was really hurting him.

"Let me go!" Harry felt a heat go though his body. He felt his uncle let go and saw that his hand was a raw red. Harry screamed when Vernon grabbed him again. That surge of magic left him weak and he knew that he wouldn't be able to do it any time soon.

Sirius heard the scream and knew that it was his Harry. Panic flooded him as he ran toward the trolleys. Hermione followed him at his heal. The Weasleys also heard the scream and went towards it.

Sirius was the first to arrive; shortly followed by the others. Everyone was angry when they saw Harry. His knees were still bleeding and his arm was bruised a dreadful green. Sirius protectively pulled Harry out of Vernon's reach.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY SON!" The whole area went quiet.

A/N And that was chapter one of _The Return of the Second Chance_. Please tell me what you think. Reviews are greatly appreciated.

I know that it is short but there's only so much you can put in a chapter about the train and Kings Cross.


	2. Chapter 2 Getting Even

I don't own Harry Potter and I don't make a profit off this story.

Harry was still in Sirius' arms when he heard him shout. He was also painfully aware of all the eyes that were on them. He pulled himself out of Sirius' arms and turned to Vernon. He felt a fresh wave of anger hit. He felt the remnants of heat in his fingers increasing again.

A guard pushed his way through the Weasleys so he could get to middle of the scene. It was the same guard that Harry met the first time, but of course, no one knew that. He took in his surroundings before he spoke.

"What is going on here?"

"I'm just tying to pick up my nephew. But the ungrateful brat is refusing to come with me. His headmaster wrote me that the boy was to stay with my family and me."

"My headmaster has no say in where I live during the summer! My godfather has custody of me. I've been living with him for nearly a year. I just want to go home."

Sirius stooped down to Harry's level and whispered in his ear.

"Send a letter to Minerva and explain to her what's going on. She won't let Dumbledore interfere like this. She lives on western border of Kent and will be able to help us."

Harry quickly dug out a piece of parchment and wrote the note. He was so glad that Hedwig was a fast flyer. Going to Kent from London was going to take no time. Unfortunately, the guard saw Hedwig fly off and asked why the bird was let loose.

"She was in the cage for a long time and needed to spread her wings. She knows how to get home so I'm not worried she'll get lost."

"Alright. Now I want to get to the bottom of this without having to call the Yard. Tell me exactly what happened before I got here. And before you start speaking at once let the black-haired kid speak first."

He told the guard everything. He didn't have to lie once. He just left out the magic parts.

Then the guard took Vernon's story, which was the complete opposite of what Harry said. Some of things he said made no sense whatsoever. At least his rambling on how Harry was a compulsive liar gave Hedwig time to get to Kent. It was nearly half an hour later when McGonagall arrived. Harry heaved a sigh of relief when he saw her.

"I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Harry's school. Harry contacted me that there was a dispute about who he lives with. I have the records of all my students and Harry's guardian is Mr. Sirius Black. That piece of lard over there has a restraining order to keep him away from Harry."

Harry's mouth gaped as she spoke. She was calling him Harry.

She knew that Dumbledore wanted Harry at the Dursleys but here she was saying the exact opposite of what Dumbledore wanted.

It seemed as though Harry found an ally within Dumbledore's inner circle.

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by the guard.

"Well in that case, sir, you are to come with me." He took Vernon's beefy arm. "You three are free to go."

But unfortunately, Vernon wasn't done. He heaved his arm out of the guards grasp and lunged towards Harry.

"You're coming with me!" Spit came flying out of his mouth as he yelled. That was one sight Harry wasn't going to miss seeing every summer.

Sirius pulled Harry out of the way, as McGonagall put a trip jinx on Vernon so that he landed in a near by garbage bin. Her wand was in the sleeve of her old denim jacket so no one saw that she cast a spell.

Harry and the Weasley boys were all laughing at Vernon. His face was a puce color and catsup was in his hair. Ginny was fascinated by the way his face changed from dark red to purple and then back to red. She had never seen anything like it before.

The guard meanwhile was calling the police so that they could take Vernon down to the station. He never had a day like this before and hoped he never had one like it ever again. He went to the break room as soon as the police arrived. He really needed a vacation after dealing with Vernon Dursley.

After making statements Harry, Sirius, and McGonagall walked out to the parking lot in silence. They each had a matching smile on their faces. Dumbledore lost once again.

"Thank you Professor. If it weren't for you I would be stuck with the Dursleys again." He looked into her eyes to try to see what she thinking. He couldn't though.

"I was only doing what I should have done along time ago. I was there the day you were left at the Dursleys. I told Albus that they were Muggles of the worst sort. I tried to fight his decision but I backed down. When I heard what was going on at the Dursleys I was actually happy that you ran away.

"I tried to come see you but Albus made it impossible. I think many of us wanted to see you. I wasn't given any information about your life even though I tried. I don't think Albus trusted me enough not too tell you everything you needed to know."

"It's not your fault Professor. The headmaster was just doing what he thought was best. In doing so, he hurt a lot of people. Harry would still be there if he didn't recognize Remus in the park last summer."

"You were at Remus' last summer!" Harry looked a little guilty. "I should have known there was no way to keep that boy away from you. He was always finding ways to bend the rules when he was at Hogwarts.

"I best be going back to the school. I have to give that nosy headmaster a piece of my mind. I'll owl you later to tell you how it all went with him. It should be entertaining to know what he says." He knew he wasn't going to see that letter.

After saying their goodbyes, McGonagall Apparated to Hogwarts and the two boys climbed onto Sirius' motorcycle. McGonagall almost smiled when she saw Harry's excitement of the bike.

Ten minutes later McGonagall was in Dumbledore's office yelling. She never yelled at her boss like this before. Sure, they had their disagreements, but what friends don't?

"ALBUS, YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME! YOU LEAVE HARRY ALONE. HE CAN LIVE ANY WHERE HE PLEASES. I TOLD YOU ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE. THE ENTIRE WIZENGAMOT BUT YOU AGREE THAT HARRY WILL BE MUCH BETTER OFF WITHOUT THE DURSLEY!" McGonagall took a breath and Dumbledore took this as a chance to say something.

"Minerva, will you calm down? Harry has to live where his mother's blood calls home. That is the only place that can offer him protection. Staying with Sirius will have consequences I don't want to see."

"What consequences? Is Harry being happy a consequence? No one will find them. Sirius has put up protection upon protection to keep Harry safe. Do you really doubt that Sirius is going to fail that boy? I don't doubt him one bit?" She said this in a low angry whisper. "He was hurt while living with the Dursleys; I won't let him be hurt anymore. Harry means too much to me. Lily's memory means too much to me."

Albus just sighed. He knew that he was beat. He only had to work harder to make sure Harry was protected. It was the one thing that he could not fail. He nodded to McGonagall and she left the office satisfied Dumbledore was going to back off from Harry's personal life.

Harry and Sirius walked into Grimmauld Place laughing as they took off their helmets. Sirius drove the long way home so Harry could enjoy the motorcycle. He refused to go in the air but they did enjoy the break neck speeds that Sirius forced out of the bike.

They could smell something burning in the kitchens. Remus was trying to cook. And like all other times it didn't turn out. Fortunately, Sirius was suspicious when Remus said that he didn't want to come to King's Cross with him to pick up Harry and decided to get hamburgers from a local burger place. Remus was grateful and disgruntled at the same time.

"Do you all have so little faith in me?" He glared at the bag is Harry's hands. "I thought you were going to let me cook Harry's homecoming meal."

"No, I have absolutely no faith in your cooking abilities but I like you anyways. Remus just get over the fact that you can't cook. You're un-teachable. Even Lily counted you as a lost cause. I think she gave up after you burnt pasta. That's the easiest thing to make."

"One of these days I will cook something right. It's bound to happen. I will never give up."

"Remus, the day that you make something edible and taste good; will be the day I willingly go in the Hogwarts dungeons completely starkers." Harry gave him a cheeky smile to show he wasn't being serious. "I just don't think that it's possible for you to cook. Besides, you have us to feed every few days."

They ate their dinner and mad small talk with each other. Then Harry asked something neither was expecting.

"Can I become an Animagus?"

A/N So, I had McGonagall yell at Dumbledore. Bet no one saw that coming. Well, maybe you did but I put it anyway

Thanks you all for reviewing. I never thought I would get so many for the first chapter alone. Please keep up the good reviews.


	3. Chapter 3 Daily Life

It's amazing really, that after all this writing I still don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter three

A week after coming home Harry was found sitting on his bed. Even though he knew that Dobby was stopping his post, he was still depressed he wasn't getting any mail. He didn't even get a letter from McGonagall. He needed contact with his friends. Not even Sirius could pull him out of his funk. What hurt worse, was knowing that he couldn't write to his friends. Dobby would most likely try to stop those as well.

Not even the prospect of animagus training could keep Harry's mind off the fact he wasn't getting any mail. Remus wasn't to happy about the training but he couldn't overrule Sirius when it came to Harry.

Another thing that was bothering Harry was the fact that the Dursleys weren't in jail. How had Dumbledore gotten them out? How was he able to convince them to take Harry back? Surely, he knew that the Dursleys were going to be horrible to him if he lived with them. Just thinking about it made Harry's head hurt.

Also, there was the fact that Sirius called Harry his son. This confused Harry to no end. He knew that he loved Sirius but he wasn't sure if he could call him dad. Why had he done it? Was it an accident? Did he really feel that way about Harry? He didn't know what to think. He couldn't even ask Sirius what it meant.

A weird but good thing was the absence of Kreacher. Apparently, Sirius never called him back to the house. For all Harry and Sirius cared, the house elf could have died and no one had noticed. Well Remus didn't care either but he didn't think that the elf was dead. His absence made the house a much cheerier place to live.

Tonks was another unusual thing in Harry's life. She truly was like an older cousin to Harry. To make this clear to Tonks that she was family, he was an annoying little brat towards her. In return, she would tease him. The thing that Harry didn't understand was her behavior towards Remus. She acted weirdly around him ever since the day that they all went out to get Neville his wand. He was still debating whether or not to tell her the truth about the whole coming back to change everything because she gave him a wishing candle.

Only thing that was constant in Harry's life was the fact Remus was predictable. After Harry's first day back at Grimmauld, Remus had given up on trying to cook. For that, everyone was grateful.

But that also meant that Sirius was in charge of what they were going to eat. He could come up with some unusual meals. The one rule that Harry hated that Sirius had was that he had to eat everything that was put on his plate. Even with all the food he had at Hogwarts, he was too thin for Sirius liking. So was Remus for that matter. They both were aware that their portions were a lot bigger than Sirius' were. It was amazing how much weight he gained in less than a year. Right now, it was dinner time.

"What did you make today?"

"Lobster rolls, tomato and cucumber salad, corn on the cob with lime-chive butter, and for our dessert raspberry crumble tart." Sirius gave Harry a short bow as he presented his food.

"Lobster, Paddy. Isn't that a bit..."

"What?"

"I've never had lobster before and I don't know if I want to."

"You know the rule Harry. You have to gain at least six kilos before you can even think about going to Ron's this summer."

The rest of the summer passed like that. Harry's mood really didn't improve as his birthday approached. He had no idea how he was going to deal with Dobby. The only thing that was on the bright side was that he wasn't going to get into trouble with the Ministry. He had been using magic all summer. He knew he couldn't at Ron's but that was a small sacrifice that he had to pay in order to spend time with his friends.

Sirius was one to take full advantage of every situation. The fact that Harry could use magic didn't go over his head. So he arranged for Harry begin learning how to duel. No one in the house would forget the first lesson.

FLASHBACK

"Harry, what's the most difficult spell that you know?"

"The Patronus Charm."

"When did you learn that? I didn't even attempt it until after I left school.

"Remus is — er— was going to teach it to me in my Third Year. I kinda had to. You know Dementors were at the school because they were after a mass murderer." He gave him a cheeky smile. "Do you want to see it?" Before Sirius could answer Harry had his wand drawn.

The look on Sirius face couldn't have been described as shock because that would be putting it too mildly. He never thought he would ever see Prongs again, and there he was prancing in his drawing room. Harry quickly ended the spell when Sirius looked as though he was hypnotized. His eyes were blank.

"Let's get on with the lesson." Sirius put an arm around Harry's shoulders to let him know he was okay.

END FLASHBACK

Training was strenuous during the following weeks. Remus thought that Harry should also learn Muggle self-defense. That added to Animagus training tired Harry out so much that he was in bed by twenty hundred hours. He also wanted to sent aside a part of the day to write. Something about writing just felt right.

He also had homework. Remus wasn't about to let Harry do it at the last minute. He knew all the answers and how to write each essay to perfection. He just didn't want to do it. He was going to have to help Ron anyways so why not wait to do it with him. It only seemed logical to Harry. Unfortunately, Sirius agreed with Remus on this one. The adults also refused to help because he already did this and shouldn't need help.

All in all Harry's schedule was full. He couldn't wait for August when he could take a break. Well, an almost break. He still had to do his physical training while at the Weasleys and his Animagus meditation. It was a lot easier since he already knew how to clear his mind. But it took a lot of time out of his day.

Though, one day when Tonks came over, they gave Harry a break from his busy schedule. Actually, Remus forced Harry to relax.

"Come on Harry. You have to have some fun. It is summer. I'm going to take you shopping. Trust me, you'll love it." A black-haired amber-eyed Tonks said while pulling Harry towards the door.

"You know that I hate Muggle shopping. If it weren't for the poor competition you'd lose your spot as my favorite cousin."

"Poor competition indeed. Draco Malfoy isn't my favorite cousin either. I've met him once when he was six. I was just out of school and at the Ministry applying to become an Auror. Uncle Lucius brought that brat along and they both just started to order me around. I know Uncle Lucius recognized me because I was in my natural form and I look just like my mother."

"At least you didn't have to live him for fif- ten years. Dudley 'big D' Dursley is just as bad or worse than Draco. I bet that by the time that he's fourteen he'll be as wide as he is tall. I remember, when we were about five, he and his new friends would chase me around the schoolyard. They called it Harry Hunting."

"Your teachers never noticed."

"Of course they noticed. When they asked Petunia and Vernon about it they never got honest answers. After a while they just ignored it."

They shopped for several hours. Tonks pulled into store after store. He had no idea where she kept all of her extra energy. It was like she had one too many coffees and was starting another one. By the fourth store Harry was exhausted. Then...

Harry was absentmindedly looking in the window of a Muggle bookstore. He saw the perfect gift for Hermione's birthday in September. He knew that she would love it. The red and gold leather bound cover was exactly her style. He knew exactly what spells he was going to put on it. He pulled Tonks in the store and purchased the book without a word. She gave him a questioning glance but he ignored her. This left Tonks very unhappy with Harry.

To make Tonks even more curious Harry dragged her to a gift store to get emerald green gift-wrap. She was dying to know who he was going to give the book to.

"Umm.. Harry, what's..."

"Not telling."

"But..."

"No, Tonks."

"You're no fun. Did you know that, Pronglet?"

"I know." He gave her a smug smile that she always saw on Sirius. It was creepy how much to two were alike. He was like Remus as well. Harry was the bookworm jokester. Tonks felt as though her would was in colossal danger of collapsing and there was no way to stop it. Not that she wanted to.

Harry just kept smiling as Tonks badgered Harry about the gift. She knew he wasn't telling but this was her cousin and she had the right to annoy him.

A/N I know, way too much filler but it was needed. It was transition from Kings Cross to Harry's birthday. I also needed some Tonks Harry bonding. What better way to do that than shopping.

Btw I left a small clue too what Harry's animagus form is going to be. Let me know if you spot it. It's really small.


	4. Chapter 4 Twenty four Hours pt 1

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter four

2355 (11:55 pm)

It was Harry's birthday. Actually, it was five minutes before midnight. Sirius told him to go to bed early because he was going to get up early the next morning; he just didn't know how early. Harry growled when he saw the time on the wizards' clock. That only caused Sirius to laugh as he lit candles.

"Get up Pronglet. We have a busy day. Even though we can't have your friends over we can have fun. Now, get up and get dressed. We have an appointment in three minutes that we can't miss."

Harry rolled over and waved his had at nothing; wishing that the light was gone. Suddenly it was pitch black in the room. That caused Harry to sit up in his bed. He knew what happened. He did magic.

"Harry?"

"Ummm... sorry about that. That happens from time to time."

"We'll talk about it later. For now, we're needed down stairs." He led Harry with a proud smile on his face.

They went all the way down to the kitchen. On the table were twenty-four packages in a circle. Harry was amazed at the sight. The presents ranged in size and shape. But that wasn't what impressed Harry; it was the fact they were celebrating.

"Don't just stand there; open the first box. Open only one box. You can others later. One per an hour of the day. I think Tonks brought a few things but those don't count in the one per an hour rule. She's not going to be here until later."

"Why is she sleeping?"

"She just got off her shift at 2200. Apparently, she had more than a few reports to write. Moony said she Floo'd a few hours ago to say she'll be by around ten."

"Fine. So, can I open my present now?" Sirius gave him a nod and Harry began to tear at the paper. The box was small but had a weight to it. When he pulled back the tissue paper, he couldn't help but gasp. It was a black leather jacket. He took it out of the box and saw that it was way too big for him.

Remus also gasped when he saw the jacket. He had seen it in almost thirteen years.

"That jacket belonged to James. After we graduated, he walked past this Muggle leather store and saw that jacket. It was as if he fell in love with the moment he saw it. Fortunately, he had Muggle money on him to buy it. A few months before he died, he told me to keep it in my vault. I didn't want to but I did anything that James wanted me to do. Somehow, I think he knew he wasn't going to make it through the war. He kept asking me to put things in my vault to keep safe for when you were older. A lot of your gifts this year are things your parents gave me. to keep safe."

Harry couldn't speak. He had so little that belonged to his parents. He had never seen anything that belonged to his Mum. These gifts were bringing a part of his parents back to him. He pulled the jacket on and was surprised by how soft it was. It took a deep breath and caught its smell. Trees and fresh air. Those two smells were what his father left behind. He could imagine James taking a walk in the woods behind Godric's Hollow. He could see James flying a Nimbus 1500 around like a pro; wearing this jacket. He pulled it even closer to smell it. He closed his eyes as he allowed the memories overflow him. Though he had no idea whether the memories were true or not.

"Thank you Paddy, Moony. This is wonderful. I can almost feel him."

Sirius and Remus didn't know what to say. Remus was still in shock. He knew what most of the presents were but the jacket came as a surprise.

Then Sirius cleared his throat.

"I really don't have anything else planned right now. So you want to write in your journal, now would be a good time."

"Or we could tell you another story about our school days. We sure do have a lot of them.

"I want a story."

"Well, how about I tell you about the day that I met your father?" Harry nodded eagerly. "It was September 1, 1970..."

0100 (1:00 am)

"... and we were best friends ever since."

Remus stifled a yawn as Sirius ended his story. His best friend was a great story teller but when it was this early in the morning it was hard to pay attention to a story that he personally witnessed.

But now it was time to open another present. Harry pulled a long box toward him. Somehow, he knew that it was a wand. He could feel the power of the core drawing him in. He opened the box to reveal a willow wand. It belonged to his mother. Ollivander told him that his Mum had a willow wand that was good for charm work. It was begging to be used again but knew that it would never happen. Its chosen was gone. He picked up the wand but wasn't surprised when pale blue sparks shot out. A moment later, the wand was backing its box.

"Thanks." That was the last word spoken during that hour.

0200 (2: 00 am)

Harry decided to avoid the other narrow box; knowing that it was his father's wand. He couldn't take that kind of emotion so soon after seeing his mother's wand.

Instead, he pulled a small flat package towards him. He knew what it was, a book. The title of the book surprised him, 'Marauder Rules' written by Wormtail, Moony, Padfoot and Prongs. He heard his godfather talk about the 'Rules' but never thought he would ever see them.

"Where did you find this book, Moony? I thought it was destroyed."

"James also asked me to keep a few things. I just thought our protégé would benefit knowing all of the rules. Though I think some of them would be irrelevant to him. But it would make a good laugh at how stupid some of were."

They were caught off guard when they heard Harry laughing.

"You called Peter Pettigrew Pudge-pudge for five years."

Sirius went into the story where they used Pettigrew to distract McGonagall while they pranked Snape. The story was even funnier than the prank.

0300 (3:00 am)

Harry still wasn't ready for the other wand. He didn't know if he ever would be. He could fell the mahogany wand calling to him but he resisted the urge to touch it. At least he could for now.

The next present was another book. It was an advanced charms book. He always had the tendency to go at a slower pace in charms than his other subjects and that book was cure to help him. He saw Remus neat hand writing on margins to help him with understanding the theory. He looked though the book for forty-five minutes before he had to put it down.

0400 (4:00 am)

By now, the three of them were getting tired. Harry opened another present, which was a watch (Harry was happy to see that it was waterproof). Then they all went upstairs to take a nap for an hour. They really didn't have anything planned to so early in the morning. Sirius had thought it was a good idea to stay up for twenty-four hours straight.

Harry decided to use that time to meditate so he could find his animagus form. All he knew saw that it was black. He didn't even know what kind of animal he was. He made sure that he was sitting comfortably before he began.

He sat there ignored everything around him and concentrated on finding his center. There was a shuffling sound but he knew that was coming from within him because there was a silencing charm around the room. Next, he heard a soft clicking noise. He knew the sound before but he didn't know where.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Remus opening his door. He pushed the noises from his mind and followed Remus downstairs again.

0500 (5:00 am)

They all were still tired but refreshed at the same time. Sirius had resolved this was not going to become a yearly tradition.

Remus noticed a rather curious expression on Harry's face. It was as though he was deep in thought but at the same time completely relaxed. He had to ask Harry about it later.

The next gift was chosen for him by Sirius. Apparently, he was hungry because it was a large basket of fruit. He pulled out an apple and tossed it to Sirius as though he was asking him to make something to eat.

0600 (6:00 am)

Remus was going to kill Sirius. Well, he was but he was way too tired. But they weren't scheduled another nap for another two hours.

The reason Sirius was an almost dead man was because he planned a trip the Gringotts for Harry to see the family vault and he was dragging him along. He hated those carts. They always made him sick. If only there was more than one speed.

Sirius had lied to Dumbledore the year before and said that he had taken Harry to the Potter vault. In truth, Harry had never even heard about the vault. Boy was he in for a shock.

The present Harry chosen was a locket with a lily craved into it. The chain was missing so thought he could get a new one so he could wear it... as long as Malfoy never saw it. He didn't care what he said about him but Malfoy would make nasty comments about his Mum.

0657 (6:57 am)

Harry shuffled his feet as he walked up the stairs to Grimmauld Place. He couldn't help but feel as though he was being watched. He knew that it was Dobby; he just could sense where he was. It was frustrating not being able to feel where he was.

The three of them went into the kitchen as soon as they got into the house. Harry only had a few minutes before he had to open the next present. He was ready to open his father's wand box.

The mahogany wand was scratched and scorched but it still held a lot of power. Harry picked up this wand as well and felt the same sorrow he felt when he held his Mum's wand. The same blue sparks shot out as well. But instead of putting it back into by itself, he grabbed his mother's wand and put them both in the same box. The wands were together as should have been the whole time. They belonged together just as James and Lily belonged together.

0800 (8:00 am)

Harry was ready to go to bed by the time the open his eighth present, which was an empty photo album. But he wasn't going to get the chance to go to sleep Dobby was already in his bed.

A/N This is the first eight hours of Harry's birthday. The last 16 will be in the next chapter.

I put another clue in this chapter for what Harry's animagus form could be. Just so you know it has nothing to do with the black comment. It makes sense that his form would be black. The clue in the last chapter was the comment that Harry was like both Sirius and Remus.


	5. Chapter 5 Twenty four Hours pt 2

I don't own Harry Potter. Some lines come right from CoS, chapter two

Chapter five

0801 (8:01 am)

The house elf jumped off the bed when he saw that Harry entered the room. Harry's first thoughts were that this elf wasn't the same as the one he left. Dobby was fidgety and afraid like he was before he was freed from the Malfoys. This was going to be a hard year. Harry spoke first.

"Er... hello." Well that was intelligent.

"Harry Potter." Harry winced at the high pitched voice. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir... Such an honor it is..."

"Thanks." He sat down at his desk. "Who are you?" Harry felt stupid asking something he already knew. But he had to do it.

"Dobby, sir. Just Dobby, Dobby the House Elf." _He may be nervous but he's still as overexcited as ever, _thought Harry smiling inwardly.

"I don't want to be rude or anything but I'm awfully tired and this isn't a great time for me to have a house elf in my bedroom." _And there's the ear droop. I will always fall for that. _"Not that I'm not pleased to meet you. Is there a particular reason you're here." _This is going strangely similar the first time. _

"Start where you can. I know a lot of wizards aren't very nice to house elves." The ears drooped again. "By that look I'd say that your master is one of them." Harry was trying to keep the poor elf from hurting himself. Dobby then grabbed a book and began to beat his head with. Apparently, he wasn't doing a good job of it. "Don't do that. You did nothing wrong. You had a thought and you can't punish yourself for thinking. I wish I could help you now.

"Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby... Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but your goodness, Dobby never knew..."

Harry decided to play along with Dobby. "Whatever you heard about my greatness is a lie. I'm only third in my year. Hermione is the top."

"Harry Potter is humble and modest. Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named—"

"You sound like my friend Ron."

"Dobby heard tell that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time, just weeks ago... that Harry Potter escaped _yet again."_

"It wasn't a big deal."

"Ah, sir, Harry Potter is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter, to warn him, even if he _does_ have to shut his ears in the oven door later..._ Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts."_

And there it was.

"Dobby, I have to go back. They expect me to go back. I have to go back."

"No, no, no. Harry Potter must stay where he is safe. He is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger.

Harry remained quiet but Dobby didn't notice.

"There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make terrible things happen at Hogwarts..."

"But what if I'm the only one who can stop them. I know you can't tell me so I won't ask. I have to go back to Hogwarts. I have to go back to my friends."

"Friends who don't even write to Harry Potter?"

Once again, Harry was quiet. He couldn't reveal he already knew the plot. He couldn't reveal that he knew what Dobby was planning on doing.

"Please, don't be angry Harry Potter. Dobby has the letters right here. Dobby hoped... if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him... Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir..."

"Give me those letters Dobby."

"Dobby will if Harry Potter agrees not to go back to Hogwarts."

"I can't do that. My family won't let me. I want those letters but not at the price you are asking. It's nearing 0900. I have to be downstairs for my birthday. I'm sorry Dobby. I promise to be careful but that's all I can do."

Dobby left with a crack. Harry knew that this wouldn't be the last time he'd see Dobby. It was just a matter of time before Dobby tried to prevent Harry from going to Hogwarts. And if it was going to be like last time, he needed to plan on an alternate route to Hogwarts that didn't include flying cars.

0904 (9:04 am)

Harry was a few minutes late but when he explained about Dobby's warning, Remus and Sirius were more than understanding. They both knew that Dobby was going to come and excepted Harry's bizarre life.

Remus chose the ninth gift Harry opened. The package was very small and very light. When Harry opened it, he gasped in delight. It was four tickets to the Puddlemere United game verses the Appleby Arrows that started at 1030 (10:30 am).

1000 (10:00 am)

Tonks arrived at Grimmauld Place with a bang. Literally. She landed on the kitchen floor and something behind her exploded. Harry let out a chuckle know Sirius was behind the explosion. She pulled herself up and acted as though nothing had happened.

She knew of the twenty-four gifts and settled down close to Remus to watch Harry open Sirius and Remus' gift before given Harry her own. Remus already told her what Harry had opened by now.

This box was also small but was on the heavier side. It was his mother set of journals that she kept until she died. They were charmed to that only she and those of her blood (with magic in it of course) could open it. He decided to read it later when he had more time.

Tonks had gotten him a set of books on charms. Some one them had very weird title like 'When and How to Charm Your Very Annoying Neighbor Who Can't get the Hint You Don't Like Them" and some had very practical titles such as 'Charms: 101'. He put those aside to see that he had yet another gift from Tonks...

It was a hat. One that covered his scar.

The air in Puddlemere Pitch was cool and crisp, perfect conditions for Quidditch. The only other time Harry had been at professional Quidditch game was the 1994 World cup.

They went to their seats and waited for the game to begin.

It was obvious that the Arrows were the better team this year. The Puddlemere Chasers Amy Lavik, Mitch Switch, and Chelsea Warrington kept dropping the Quaffle. They did have a decent Keeper, Lacey Watermark, but that was that was going for them; well and their Beaters, Stephan Hawkman and Pat Adders. Ed Ward, the Seeker, was high in the sky; tailing the Arrows Seeker, Jesi Moore. Jesi was the better flyer of the two.

Arrows Chaser, Jacoby Moore, swooped around Amy taking the Quaffle out of her hands as she tried to pass to Chelsea. Stephan and Pat retaliated when the used their Dopplebeater Defense to knock out Risika Catterson, an opposing Beater, but she flew out of the way just in time. Her boyfriend and fellow Beater, Gerard Clay, shot the other Bludger at Ed and successfully de-broomed him. This left Jesi free reign to find the Snitch as Ed was out cold.

Jacoby passed to Coral Reed who dived to avoid another attack from Gerard. Fortunately, she kept a tight grip on the Quaffle. She sped down the field toward the post passed it back to Jacoby and he scored against Lacey. Mitch grabbed the Quaffle as it exited the left most goal. He threw it to Amy but she was once again intercepted. Risika shot a Bludger at her from no where. She dived, allowing Coral to once again to catch the Quaffle. She shot the Quaffle at the goal and yet again Lacey was unable to protect the goals. This time Chelsea grabbed the Quaffle and raced towards the goal. Just as she scored, a Bludger came at her and knocked her to the ground. She scored but she had a broken leg and couldn't play anymore. This left Puddlemere two players short. .

All this time, Arrows Chaser, Nilo Wright, hadn't once touched the Quaffle. Nilo was only nineteen and very nervous about playing professionally. She played on the Hufflepuff team for six years before she graduated. Nilo flew past everyone and the Arrows scored their third goal.

The score was thirty to ten, Puddlemere lagging behind. The Snitch was no where to be seen...at least to the Seeker on the pitch. Harry had seen the Snitch five times in the first hour of play. He knew this was going to be a long game. Ten minutes after he saw the Snitch for the sixth time, Puddlemere called for a time out. That's when he heard the announcer, Carl Misvant.

"While the teams are taking a break, I would like to say that the Appleby Arrows and Puddlemere United want to wish the Harry Potter a happy birthday." Carl sounded very much like Lee Jordan when he announced. Harry let out a groan.

"Since when did my name have a 'the' in front of it?" he asked himself more than those around him.

"Since the day that you defeated Voldemort, Harry. You should know that by now." Remus responded after a moment of thought. He didn't even pay attention to Tonks when she shuddered at the name. The game continued as though nothing was said.

Mitch was able to score for Puddlemere against Adam Kessler, the Arrows Keeper, but not before the Arrows scored three more times. And as the time passed, the Puddlemere Beaters grew more aggressive. Nilo was coming more out of her shell and scored twice in a row. But she was shot down by Stephan and was taken out of the game. Risika red with anger shot both of the Bludgers at Stephan. The first one missed but the second hit him square in the nose. It was obviously broken and he was out. But Ris wasn't done yet. She followed the Bludger and shot it towards Lacey, Puddlemere's Keeper. She too was now out of the game. Four down three to go.

For some reason the Beaters ignored Jesi. She flew around the pitch. Finally, she saw the Snitch five feet from the ground. Since Ed was out of the game, she had no trouble catching the golden ball. The Arrows won 340-20.

1446 (2:46 pm)

That was one of the longest games Harry had seen lasting for over four hours.

1754 (5:54 pm)

The four for them didn't make it back home until nearly 1800 because Tonks wanted to go out for dinner. They could have birthday cake when they got home... or later because of all that Sirius ate. Harry and Remus now knew how Sirius gained all the weight. He was a pig that would put Ron Weasley to shame.

1800-2400 (6:00 pm- 12:00 am)

They spent the rest of the night at home talking about how brutal they game was. Harry also opened the remaining presents being allowed to open eight presents at once because they didn't bring them along to the game and dinner. These gifts included various types of chocolate (Muggle and Magic) and a wand holster.

Harry happily crawled into bed.

A/N What do think of my Quidditch game? It was my first detailed game so don't be too brutal (lol).


	6. Chapter 6 A Dream and a Nightmare

I don't own Harry Potter. I'll come up with something witty to say later. Right now, I'm not in the mood.

Some parts come directly from _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_ chapter three.

Chapter Six

The days following Harry's birthday were very quiet for those at Grimmauld Place. Sirius and Remus hadn't recovered from the party and tried to sleep it off. But Harry being full of energy typical of a twelve-year-old; bounced off the walls from eating all of his chocolate in one day forming a sugar high he had never experienced. He really liked the feeling... that was until the sugar wore off and he was exhausted from all the activity.

Soon enough it was the third day since his birthday and Ron and the twins were expected to show up any second. He was very curious as to how they were going to 'rescue' him from The Most Noble House of Black (_yeah right, noble my arse). _He thought with the twins around they would have an adventure in the making planned. Never in a million years did Harry think that they would use the front door. It was a good thing that Mrs. Black was gone or nearly the whole house would be awake.

Sirius always was a heavy sleeper and kept sleeping. Harry was still awake in the living room, reading Hogwarts: A History. Remus, with his werewolf hearing, picked up every sound the three boys were making. He crept out of his room though a secret passage that lead straight to the entrance hall. He smiled when he saw that the door was going to open right behind them.

"May I help you three?" Remus stood in the shadows so that the boys couldn't see the laughter in his eyes. It would be a whole lot less funny if Harry hadn't warned him this might happen.

"We... well... we were hoping to see Harry and take him to the Burrow for the rest of the summer," the closest twin stuttered. Remus was close to bursting, so was Harry, who was standing on the other side of a hidden door. But there always was a problem with that door... if too much weight was on it the latch broke. And as Harry was leaning on it, he fell forward.

"Hey, guys. Nice to see you." Harry laughed nervously. He got off the floor and grinned at his favorite uncle (as if there was competition as Pettigrew and Vernon were the competitors). "I thought you were asleep."

"I thought the same of you. What are you still doing up?" Remus looked at the too small boy with his worried amber eyes.

"I had way too much sugar today. And now I can't sleep. I blame you and Sirius for that, you know. You should never give a twelve-year-old that much chocolate when he never had that much before. I'm going to be running on sugar for the next two weeks maybe longer."

"Harry, why don't you go wake Sirius up while I talk to your friends?"

"Why can't you go?" Harry pouted.

"Because he'll bite me."

"Won't he bite me?"

"No, he actually likes you. Now, go get him. You're making things harder for yourself." He said this very sternly and winked at Harry who smiled as he went up another secret passage. While the house may be a bit creepy at times, he loved living in it. Not even Sirius could find all of the passages and he lived there for seventeen years.

Harry crept silently in his godfather's room. It wasn't necessary because the man, or rather dog, was a log when it came to sleep. But it was more fun this way.

"Padfoot, it's time to get up." The dog didn't move. "Padfoot, Snivellus is here to kidnap me and make me his personal potions slave." The dog growled but didn't move. Harry tried one more time. "Padfoot, Moony's going to steal all of the dog biscuits and eat them during the next full moon by himself." The dog twitched but did nothing else. One more try and he was going to pull out the big guns... er wands. He really didn't want to do that. "Padfoot, Moony is going to cook breakfast until I go back to Hogwarts." Another twitch but nothing else. Harry grabbed Sirius' wand and cast a water spell and in seconds Padfoot was soaking wet. This woke Sirius up and transformed back into his human self.

"What the bloody h- what was that for? Couldn't you have thought of a nicer way to wake me? Just poke me or something next time."

"I tried but you wouldn't wake. Hurry up and get dressed. The Ron and the twins are here and want me to come with them. I need you to scare them a little. It'll be fun; I promise."

"Since when do I trust Potters?" Sirius mock glared at Harry as Harry laughed.

"You've been trusting 'Potters' for nearly twenty years. We Potters are a very trusting bunch and you'd regret not trusting us."

Twenty minutes and sixty winces later the four boys were on their way to the Burrow. They sent the whole trip laughing and joking. Harry told them about his birthday and Dobby's warning. They said the same thing about Dobby as they did the first time.

Mrs. Weasley was as furious as before. Harry was never happier that he was prepared for the Weasley temper. It started out well enough. And then...

"Have you any idea how worried I've been." After all the years Harry knew Mrs. Weasley, he was still slightly afraid of her. He gave the others a look that told them to remain silent for as long as possible. _"Beds empty! No note! Care gone — could have crashed — out of my mind with worry — did you care? — never, as long as I lived — you wait until your farther gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy._

"You could have _died_, you have been _seen_, you could have lost your father his _job_ _—_"

And she went on and on, sometimes repeating herself. He knew that he would never willingly cross Mrs. Weasley. He was glad that she held a soft spot for him with all the trouble he will and had caused. It wasn't long after Mrs. Weasley ended her tirade before her husband returned from work. Harry never seen Mr. Weasley truly angry before and was glad of that fact.

This time he was truly exhausted and went to bed in Ron's room instead of helping de-gnoming the garden. Ron gave him a glare but Harry was too tired to care. The moment his head it the pillow he was asleep.

_Harry was sitting in a high backed chair. It was hard for him to breathe and he was very weak. He fought sleep; fearing that it might be the last time that would be awake. He could hear a scuttling sound in the distance but he ignored it. But what ever was making the noise was coming closer. It sounded like tiny paw prints. Good, in this creature he was way too weak. He could possess it and get rid of the being he was in now. _

_Suddenly, the paw prints stopped and the steps of a tentative human could be heard. He slid his body off from the chair and went toward the noise. _

"_Hello, Milord. Your most faithful servant has found you at last!"_

Harry woke screaming. His scar was burning. His scar shouldn't have been burning. He was practicing Occlumency. He was closing his mind to outside forces. Voldemort was supposed to be too weak to enter his mind for another two years.

The most unfortunate thing for Harry was the fact that his screams carried all the way down stairs to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the rest of the Weasley brood. He really didn't want to explain how a twelve-year-old could have visions of Voldemort.

He told them that he had a nightmare. That there was noting to worry about. Harry knew they had every right to worry. Pettigrew was with Voldemort. There was no reason to deny that to himself. But there wasn't a need to worry the Weasleys, not yet anyways. Sure, it'll get out eventually but for now, he was going to relish in the peace. Even if it was fake.

However, he could talk to Sirius about it. He had to know. He of all people deserved at least that much. He looked at his watch and saw that it was nearly 1230, Sirius was bound you fully awake at that time. Harry took out his two-way mirror and called out Sirius' name.

"Hey, Pronglet. Miss me already. I thought I wouldn't hear from you for at least three days. What's with the sudden desire to talk to me?"

"I had a vision and it wasn't good..."

"But I thought you could stop those. You hadn't even had any of those scar pains that you warned me and Remus about. Are you sure it was a vision?"

"Positive. Occlumency is difficult to maintain at young ages. My shield must have been weakened from being up all night. We have to be careful. I can't have Voldemort coming back before my Fourth Year. Who knows who could be killed in the meantime? It's going to be hard since we don't know how Voldemort is keeping himself alive. Nagini wasn't with him so it's safe to say that he isn't helping... yet."

"Harry, maybe you should come home. It might not be safe at the Weasley's house."

"I'll be fine. Voldemort is too weak to do anything. And he won't let Wormtail out of his sight. He needs him too much but can't trust that he won't leave him again. He needs all the support that he can get; no matter how clumsy it is."

"I'll tell Remus when he gets home. He went out to help Tonks move out of her parents' house. For some reason they didn't want me to come along."

"Aunt Andi is still mad at you for calling her 'Dro'. She's almost as sensitive of her name as her daughter."

"Aunt Andi? Harry you never met her before. How did you know that I called her Dro?"

"We've owling each other. She insisted that I called her aunt even though we're distant cousins. She tells me stories of you from when you were a kid. Many of them could be considered blackmail stories."

"Pronglet, what did she tell you? There all lies I tell you. She was more of an older sister than a cousin so she would make things up about me."

"I hear Mrs. Weasley calling me down for lunch. I'll talk to you in a few days. Bye!"

"Harry! Harry, get back here!" But it was too late he was yelling to thin air.

A/N Well, Harry's at the Weasley's so the story is going to start to pick up soon. Next he's going to meet Gilderoy Lockhart.


	7. Chapter 7 Return of the Idiot

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter seven

Diagon Alley. That was the last place Harry Potter wanted to go that day. But he knew that he had to. He had people to see and supplies to buy. Besides if he didn't go Ginny wouldn't get new Lockhart books.

He didn't understand why Mrs. Weasley just didn't buy one set (after he gives Ginny the other). Lockhart's was the only class that they needed the books for. The kids would just pass them among themselves. No two Years were taking a class at the same time so theoretically it would work. Other than the Lockhart books the rest of the First Year Books were the same so Ron could just give Ginny most of his old books. He told Mrs. Weasley his thought and surprisingly she agreed.

Harry was lead to the Floo and gave it a dubious look. No matter how many times he used it he hated it. At least it was better than a Portkey. He was never going to use one of those again as long as he lived... well at least until he's kidnapped by Voldemort. He was very superstitious when it came to those. He took a pinch of powder and swallowed a bunch of ash as he called out what he hoped was Diagon Alley.

Fate was really against Harry Potter and now he had proof. Once again, he was in Borgin and Burkes. Harry was never happier that he was the one to use the Floo because he had more time to escape. But since the Fates hated Harry, they had the Malfoys appear right as he was about to head for the door. Harry hid in the small cabinet and tried not to let his claustrophobia get to him. He really wished he knew what was on the piece of paper Mr. Malfoy gave Mr. Borgin.

Harry didn't pay that much attention to the Malfoys. He knew what was going on so it was pointless. He just waited until they were all gone. He really didn't want to be seen. Not soon enough, Mr. Malfoy called his son and they left the shop. He waited until Borgin was in the storage room and he snuck out.

This time there was no Hagrid to show him the way to Diagon Alley. He must have still been looking for that slug repellant. Somehow, he knew how to get back to the Weasleys because he found them less than five minutes later.

Tears were nearly coming out Mrs. Weasley's eyes when she finally saw the state Harry was in. He still covered in soot and his glasses were broken even though he put them in his pocket before he left the Burrow. Harry managed to convince her that he was fine and that he was just a bit dirty.

He told Mr. Weasley what he heard in Borgin and Burkes. Mr. Weasley was determined to get something on the Malfoys. But unfortunately, Harry couldn't tell him anything. This year had to remain same as the last time. Except for all the time Harry and the others got into trouble. The car, the de-boning (hopefully), and the Polyjuice fiasco could all be avoided.

After going to Gringotts, Ron and Hermione dragged Harry to the ice cream parlor, then to QQS, the parchment store, the joke shop, and an old junk shop. No one noticed the large black dog that seemed to be following them. That was until they started to walk towards Flourish and Blotts. Even in the crowd, Harry could see the massive mob of black fur.

"I'm going to kill that mutt." Harry muttered this under his breath but his friends heard him. They gave Harry a confused look until they too saw the dog.

"Harry, isn't that the dog that snuck on the Express last year?" Hermione questioned Harry. Harry nodded but noticed that the dog had disappeared. "I wondered what happened to the dog. I didn't see him when I was at your place for the holiday."

"I'll explain things when we get back to the Burrow. I don't want anyone to over hear me. And in this crowd I don't doubt someone will." Harry didn't want to tell but he didn't have much of a choice.

"What are you three doing on your own?" Sirius' sudden appearance made Ron jump. "It's not safe with Wo-Pettigrew on the loose."

"Hey, Siri. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home making sure Remus doesn't burn down the house?" Sirius gave a small laugh and ruffled Harry's hair.

"Don't call me Siri. Haven't you been reading the Rules?" Sirius referred to the book that Harry got for his birthday.

"Rule seven; don't call each other nicknames unless the named person approves of that nickname. I thought that only allied to calling dad Jamie. It's hard to read that with the twins around. They would get all giddy if they saw that. We should go in Mrs. Weasley will start wondering where we are." Right on cue Mrs. Weasley called for them.

It was the one moment that Harry purposly blocked from his memory. It was the day he met Gildroy Lockhart. The git was as pompous as ever. Harry couldn't help but cringe at the sight of him. Sirius was standing close and saw Harry's reaction.

Then the camera man step on Ron's foot. Ron cursed at the man, which drew Lockhart's attention to them. He immediately recognized Harry and tried to pull him to the front. Sirius waited until the store manager gave Harry the free books until he stepped forward.

"Nice big smile, Harry." Harry cringed again when Lockhart tightened his hold on him. "Together you and I are worth the front page."

"Get your hands off him Gildy."

"Why isn't it Sirius Black? I haven't seen you nearly fifteen years. How have things been for you all these years?" Sirius rolled his eyes at the stupid man.

"I told you not to touch my godson. If I see one picture of him in the _Prophet, _I'll sue you and the _Prophet. _I would hate to see the kind of damage that would cause you." The growl that Sirius gave sounded nearly canine.

"Harry your godfather is so cool." Ron whispered so softly that even Hermione didn't hear him.

"Yeah, I know." Harry gave Sirius an admirable glace. He went toward the front of the shop with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny following him. Mr. Weasley was near by.

When they were about to exit, Draco Malfoy stopped them from leaving.

"So, you can't even go into a bookstore without causing a riot now, can you Potter? That's really pathetic." Malfoy gave the group his best sneer.

"I have to admit that, that insult was slightly better than the one you tried to dish out last Christmas. I would give it a three. But I am being generous, Cousin." Harry smirked back. Then he felt Malfoy jump on top of him. Though he didn't look it, Draco Malfoy was pretty heavy.

Lucius Malfoy took that as an opportunity to put Tom Riddle's diary in Ginny's used transfiguration book. Harry saw it but knew he couldn't do anything. Ginny has to suffer under Riddle's control and Harry has to destroy the diary. Only this time he wasn't going into the forest.

Five minutes after the fight, Sirius walked out with Harry and Hermione's school books. Her parents paid Sirius back with Muggle money. Harry was very curious as to haw Sirius would spend that. But then again he didn't want to know what he was going to do with it.

When everyone left the store, Harry could see Lockhart announcing that he was going to be teaching at Hogwarts. Harry groaned and Sirius took pity on Harry.

That night Harry once again found himself meditating on the camp bed Mrs. Weasley set up for him in Ron's room. The first time Ron caught him was very awkward. But Ron was used to it now. Amazingly, Ron agreed to keep Harry's meditating time a secret from his mum.

FLASHBACK

"Harry, Mum wants to know... what are you doing?" Ron gave Harry an uncertain look. Fortunately, Harry had an excuse ready for Ron to make sure he wouldn't get suspicious.

"Meditating."

"Why?" He was still giving Harry weird looks.

"Uncle Remus found out that I have a hard time sleeping because of nightmares. He suggested that I meditated before I went to sleep. If I clear my mind, I won't have nightmares." Harry learned how to lie smoothly over the last few years; even though he hated doing it. But, Harry reasoned, it was necessary.

END FLASHBACK

Sirius said that to find his animagus form he had to find his inner animal. He heard the animal and he knew that it was black and had claws but that was all he knew. Harry closed his eyes and looked deep within himself, just as Sirius taught him. This time was different from the others.

Harry once again heard the clicking sound. It sounded like paws on stone. He could feel fur all over his tiny body. He had a great urge to run and play. He had a long messy black tail. His pointy ears were on top of his head that was also messy. His emerald eyes stood out forever against a sea of black. Harry could feel himself smiling in his new form.

Harry quickly pulled himself out of his trance and pulled out his mirror; not caring that Sirius might be asleep.

"Paddy, guess what? I know what my animagus form is going to be." Harry had an excited grin on his face that matched the one that was on his form. "You'll never guess what I am."

"Harry, calm down. Tonks is in the next room. I don't want her to know about the mirrors." Sirius gently rebuked Harry.

"Sorry, Paddy. But I going to be a..."

Just then, Ron walked into the room with a shocked look on his face. Harry Potter was in big trouble.

A/N Ha, a cliffy. I bet you all thought I was going to tell you what Harry was going to be in the chapter. Don't worry it will be soon.


	8. Chapter 8 And Now To School We Go

I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction. And I wouldn't be flat broke. Please enjoy this and review.

Chapter eight

Harry stared at Ron in shock. He didn't move. He didn't say a word. He just stared. Even Sirius was quite and that was an accomplishment.

"Harry, what are you doing? Who were you talking to?" Ron was very confused.

"I'm talking to Sirius. We have these mirrors that allow us to talk to each other. But you can't tell anyone. I don't think your Mum will approve of these mirrors." Harry finally stopped staring. "This is the fastest way for me to talk to Sirius. They're perfect emergencies. If I remembered the mirror last year we could have gotten help sooner than we did."

"You know that it's a bad idea to keep things from my Mum. She always has a way of finding out when we are keeping things from her." Ron gave Harry an uncertain look. "I can't lie to her and it would be bad for your health if you do."

Harry put an arm around Ron's shoulders as he led him out of the room. "Mate, I have learned the art of confusion from the best. And if all else fails I'll just flatter her."

Ron was very nervous when he went down the stairs. He had a bad feeling about this. If his mother was an animagus, he knew that she would be a hawk because she never missed a thing.

"What took you boys so long? You should have come right down." She gave Ron a look that tried to crack him but Harry spoke up.

"Sorry about that Mrs. Weasley I was just showing Ron something my godfather gave me. I just didn't have the chance to show him yet."

"That's fine, dear. Do you mind telling me what it was?" Mrs. Weasley took her eyes off her youngest son.

"It's just an old trinket that belonged to my Dad. I got while we were cleaning the house. I'm surprised that it survived since Mrs. Black hated her son and destroyed most of his stuff.

Harry kept his head down to hide the smile on his face. It was easy to bend Mrs. Weasley with the sympathy card. He felt a little guilty for treating her like that but he needed to use every advantage he had to keep her at a distance.

Harry had never been so frustrated in his entire life. And it was all because of the Weasleys. No matter how had he tried he couldn't get a moment to himself. It always seemed as though at least one Weasley was always awake when he was. He couldn't talk to Sirius in the middle of the night because they both were asleep and Mrs. Weasley always checked to see if all of the kids were asleep. The bathroom was also out of the question to try to talk to Sirius. Though, even in there his privacy wasn't guaranteed.

When ever he tried to talk Sirius, he was interrupted. The twins were trying to prank him, Ginny was staring at him, Percy was lecturing him about not doing his homework even though Harry said it was already done, and Ron was following him everywhere. He couldn't have a moment of peace at all. For the first time in his life, he wished he were anywhere but at the Burrow. This place was going to drive him nuts if he had to stay too long. September 1st never looked so good.

Then one night, after dinner, he snuck off to be on his own. He stole a ride on his Nimbus and flew to a nearby clearing. He didn't go too far in case they noticed that he was missing so that when they tried to find him they wouldn't worry for too long.

"Sirius," his face immediately appeared. "Hey, Paddy. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. The Weasleys just won't leave me alone."

"That's alright Pronglet. So, what's been going on? You usually talk to me daily." Sirius gave him a small smile.

"I'm going nuts; that's what's going on. I can't get a moment alone. Can I please come home? I don't think I'll last much longer." Harry begged Sirius.

"Harry, it's only two more days and today's one of them. I think you can last a few more hours." It was obvious he was trying not to laugh.

"Have you been keeping up with your training? I don't want you to lose the little muscle that you gained this summer."

"Yes, Sirius, I've been doing most of my training. It's feels weird not being allowed to do magic here though. Since I've been doing it all last month."

"So you want to tell me what your animagus form is going to be."

"Yeah, I'm going to be..." Harry could hear Ron and the twins calling for him and they were pretty close to him. "I have to go. I've been missed. I'll call you tomorrow. Bye Paddy."

Both Sirius and Harry were exceedingly disappointed that they were interrupted. But it couldn't have been helped. They really hated that.

The next night Harry didn't even have two minutes alone. The bathroom was really starting to look like a haven. He didn't even have a chance to talk to Sirius as Mrs. Weasley sent them to bed right after the firework show.

Harry couldn't believe it, even though he reminded everyone to make sure that they had everything packed, they were still running late. Traffic that morning was horrendous. When they arrived at Kings Cross, they only had five minutes to get on the train. Like the first time, everyone got though the barrier that lead to platform nine and three quarters. That was until Ron and Harry tried to get through. This time however there wasn't a huge crash.

"Why won't it let us though? It's supposed to even when the train is gone," Ron whispered frantically.

"I don't know. Why don't we just wait by the car?" Harry regretted saying car because Ron got a look on his face that usually meant they were going to get into big trouble.

"Ron, no, we can't fly that car to school. Do you have any idea what McGonagall would do to us if we that? She likely would make you polish the entire trophy room. No, we're going to wait by the car and send a letter saying that we missed the train. While you write that, I'll talk to Sirius and see if he can get us to school. He can help us. Besides, what's cooler arriving in a flying car or arriving by a motorcycle with the Sirius Orion Black?" Harry had a look of pleading in his eyes. He really didn't want to spend a whole night answering Lockhart's fan mail.

"I guess the motorcycle. But come on Harry, we don't have that much time." He pulled Harry out of the station and towards the car. Harry was very relieved that he avoided Lockhart. "Anyways, your godfather is one of the coolest adults I ever met. He practically encourages you to cause mischief."

"He can be strict. Since I moved in with him, I ate more than the entire time I've lived with the Dursleys. He really thinks that I'm too thin. I can't help it if I have a fast metabolism."

"A what?" asked a confused Ron.

"Never mind, it's a Muggle term."

They walked to the car and climbed in. Ron was tempted to fly it but he knew that the train would be long gone by now. So, he obediently wrote a letter to McGonagall and waited as Harry talked to Sirius.

"...so guys missed the train and are now sitting in a flying car waiting for me to come get you." Sirius sounded amused at the whole situation. Of course, if it were he and James they would be flying to Hogwarts. But he also knew that Harry didn't want detention with Lockhart. The kid was too predictable at times.

"That just about sums it up. When can you get here?"

"Give me about ten minutes. I still have some Muggle money so we can go out to lunch and then spend the day together. I'll Apparate you two to Hogsmeade. The train doesn't get there until around six at night."

Hours after lunch, Sirius was telling Harry and Ron a story from when he was still in school. They were all laughing loudly.

"...His head was completely covered in suds and when we rinsed it off we saw that his hair was brown." The two boys went quiet.

"Merlin," whispered Ron.

"That has to be the most disturbing thing ever and I've seen Dudley eat. So, do think that the twins would help us give Snivellus a bath." Sirius and Ron stared at him. "What? I want to see if it still is brown. I have the cloak so we can't get into trouble. Please Ron. Can we do it?"

"Fine. But if we get into trouble, you'll owe me big. It'll be easy to get the twins in on this. Our only problem would be Hermione. She always knows when we are about to cause mischief."

When they went to Hogsmeade, he took one boy at a time. Harry decided that he hated all means of magical transportation but flying. Being squeezed through a tube wasn't exactly pleasant.

"Ron, why don't you run ahead? I want to talk to Harry alone." Sirius put an arm around Harry. They watched Ron for a minute. "So are going to tell me what your form is?"

"Yeah, I found out about a month ago that I'm a half-breed; a cross between a dog and a wolf. I'm kinda small but considering my height, that's not a surprise. I'm also very fuzzy. The girls are going to love me."

Sirius laughed. "Harry you're twelve there's plenty of time for girls. So I'll see you next week to start the next step in your training. Meet me and Moony in the Shack."

Ron was already at the door waiting for them before he went inside. Ron took a peak in and saw that Ginny was being Sorted. The Hat took a long while before it said Gryffindor. Just as the Hat shouted, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder. He groaned as he turned to see Snape sneering at the three of them.

A/N So there you have it, Harry's going to be a mutt. I hope I didn't cause too many headaches. I didn't mean to (okay, maybe I did but who can blame me). This was fun while it lasted.

I haven't said this nearly enough, but thanks to all those who have been reviewing.


	9. Chapter 9 Begin

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter nine

Harry turned to Ron and motioned him to stay quiet. Things would be less painful if they allowed Sirius to handle everything for them... that is until McGonagall showed up to save them. She was really good for that. Harry then looked his Potions' professor in the eye.

Snape was finally done sneering. He still glared at them but at least he was talking as well.

"Well, what do we have here? I don't believe that the three of you are allowed to be in out here. IN fact, Black, I don't think you are allowed to be here at all. The Headmaster will surely hear of this." Snape was sneering again. Harry began to wonder if he had any other expressions. After six years of knowing him, he didn't believe that he did.

"I was just dropping the boys off. It seems the barrier wouldn't let them through. I'm _so _sorry that I was late. Now just let them eat." Sirius was acting rather calmly.

"There will be punishment for their delay. That and the fact we have received no letter explaining that they wouldn't be on the train. I would have to say..."

_That's right snake-boy sneer away. I'll get my say. I wonder how much shampoo I'll need. It has been twenty years since it was last washed._ Harry couldn't help but think that.

Just then, McGonagall walked into the Entrance Hall. She had Hedwig on her shoulder. Harry glared at his pet. That bird was so unpredictable.

"Ah, Severus, the Headmaster wishes to see you." Snape just stood where he was. "I had just received your letter Mr. Potter. Care to tell me what happened at the station. Severus, you are wanted in the Great Hall. I suggest that you hurry along." She smiled sweetly at him. Harry tried his hardest not to laugh.

Harry told McGonagall what happened at the station. She listened to them as they explained nearly everything. She really didn't need to know about the side trips that they took. They were almost done when Dumbledore walked out of the Great Hall. Harry frowned at him. He was starting to get hungry. And he told the headmaster just that.

"Sir, I am sure that Professor McGonagall can tell you what we told her. Right now, I would like to have something to eat. At this rate, we would only get crumbs from the bottom of the dessert dishes. May we please go into the Hall?" Harry sounded really irritated.

"I must also get going. I have Remus alone at home and I can risk him trying to cook himself some dinner. It's a wonder how the man ever survived on his own for ten years." Sirius ruffled Harry's hair, as he had grown fond of doing. "I'll see you soon kiddo." Then he was gone.

Once again, Dumbledore interfered. Harry was getting annoyed at this point.

"I don't think that it would be a good idea for those two to go in now. Go up to your Common Room and there will be a plate of sandwiches for you." Harry knew that this was a power play but he was willing to let this one slid, though he wasn't happy about it. And apparently, neither was Ron.

"Oh, Professor McGonagall, can I talk to you tomorrow after lessons. I haven't gotten mail over the summer and didn't get you letter that you promised me." Harry grinned when she glared at the headmaster. She really didn't trust him anymore. Harry could use that as an advantage.

When they reached the Gryffindor Tower, they realized that they didn't know the password. Neither one of them were willing to go back down stairs since it was seven floors down. Hedwig had also flown off for the Owlery. They sat down in front of the Fat Lady and waited.

The new Fifth Year Prefects were surprised to see them there was an understatement. They were even more surprised when the two hungry boys dashed into the Common Room.

Hermione found them before they took their first bites.

"What happened? Why weren't you two on the train? Snape wouldn't stop staring at the door until Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore came back in the Great Hall." Hermione was always the demanding one of the trio.

"Tell you later. Must eat now." Ron spoke without even chewing all of his food.

Harry may have been hungry but at least he was nice about it. He actually swallowed before he answered Hermione.

"'Mi it's late. When were done eating Ron and I are going to bed. We'll tell you what happened in the morning." Harry picked up another sandwich and ate it.

Hermione was a bit put out but knew that everyone needed their sleep. After all, they did have lessons in the morning and it wouldn't be a good thing if they fell asleep in the middle of them. She then sighed at the two boys and went up to her dorm.

Breakfast was peaceful the next morning. Since they didn't steal the car, Mrs. Weasley didn't send Ron a Howler. But Errol did have a rather tear stained letter saying that Mrs. Weasley was extremely worried about the two of them. Percy had sent a letter saying that neither Ron nor Harry was on the train and Ginny was in tears when she couldn't find them.

A real shock for Harry was the fact that Luna Lovegood was sitting at the Gryffindor table. Well that wasn't the shock the shock was the fact she was wearing Gryffindor colors. He must have really made an impression on her last fall. She wasn't talking to anyone. She just had her usual dreamy smile on her face. That girl will always be unpredictable.

Herbology was the Second Year Gryffindors first Class. It was with the Hufflepuffs as it was the year before. Harry left the castle early to avoid Professor (and Harry used that term loosely) Lockhart. But it was fate (or the fact Lockhart was stalking him) that they met. Well, at least Professor Sprout wasn't annoyed at everything. Plus there was the fact that she didn't have to miss breakfast to tend to a battered Whomping Willow.

"Harry, Harry, Harry, I want you to know that I don't hold your _Godfather's _behavior towards me against you. It's obvious that his stay in Azkaban prevented him from know all the amazing things that I did. Just tell where I send post to him so I can share it with him." Harry couldn't stop staring at the man's teeth.

"I can't give you my address. And even if I could, I wouldn't. I don't even know you at all and my Godfather doesn't trust you. I trust my Godfather so until you can prove yourself to me I don't trust you. Do you understand or do I have to break things down for you?" He was still staring at Lockhart's overwhelming teeth. It was weird that he could show every single tooth.

"Harry, Harry, Harry, don't let one man, who's mind is likely addled, to determine what you believe. I have many published works that show that I am a great and powerful wizard. After a decade in prison, well im surprised that he even knows how to hold a wand." Harry glared at the man.

"Wouldn't you think that because he survived Azkaban he would have to be extremely powerful? The best way to earn my trust isn't to insult my family. Now, I have class to get to so please excuse me so I can actually learn something useful." _How stupid could that man be?_

Harry enjoyed the lesson on Mandrakes. He even managed to answer one of Professor Sprout's questions before Hermione did. He had a little problem with his plant but that was only because it was so fat.

Transfiguration was a lot easier than it had the first time. He just put a quick Immobulus charm on the beetle and had no trouble after that. He just had to make sure no one saw him do the spell. He had a small problem though; all of his buttons were turning red instead of staying black like they were supposed to. But of course, Harry was awarded for taking the spell a step further than they had to. Then she told him that his father was also good in Transfiguration. He already knew this but it was always nice to hear people talk about his parents, except for Snape that is.

Ron was having a hard time. Harry, however, was glad that Ron's wand wasn't blowing things up or making noises. Hermione, like Harry, had a handful of buttons. Hers were black or grey.

Harry stayed behind for a few minutes to talk about what happened in Dumbledore's office after the whole Dursley incident. He however didn't mention that it was Dobby who was stopping his mail.

He didn't go outside after lunch because he knew that Colin Creevey would follow him out there. He really didn't like having his personal stalker.

But that didn't stop Lockhart. It was as though he had a tracking charm place on Harry. Harry tried to escape by saying that he forgot a book. Lockhart followed him to the Common Room. Harry put up a Impervious charm between them when he said the password. He would have kept it up but he didn't to know when to nod his head. Then he started to bash werewolves. That mad Harry one angry kid.

"You know that werewolves aren't all bad. And most are blood-thirsty for one night. No one chooses to be a werewolf, so they shouldn't be persecuted like they have been." Harry fumed as they approached the classroom.

"Harry, Harry, Harry, I believe that I know a tad more about werewolves than you do. They are monsters all the time. Any one of them would love to bite you and make you just as hideous as they are."

"Why are they hideous for something they can't control? It's only one night a month and that one night doesn't mean anything the rest of the month. And how do you define monster? I think that someone who intentionally hurts others for no reason but personal gain are the monsters. The werewolves who lock themselves up are no different from anyone else." Harry was in full rant mode. But fortunately for Lockhart, class was about to begin.

Harry refused to take the fifty-four question 'quiz' seriously. He just made up some very rude remarks on it.

When he revealed the Cornish pixies, Harry took his wand out. In less than thirty seconds the pixies were frozen. When all of the pests were back in their cage, Harry left the classroom muttering about incompetent idiots that needed to get a clue.

A/N Please review.


	10. Chapter 10 Hermione's Birthday

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter ten

Time flew and soon it was Hermione's birthday. September 19th arrived bright and sunny. Hermione didn't suspect anything was happening. And that was exactly what Harry wanted as he had a little surprise planned for her. But first, he had a couple of redheads that he had to talk to. He couldn't help but smile at what he had in mind.

"Boys, today is the day of the anniversary of the last time that Snivellus Snape washed his hair. Or rather had his hair washed for him." He sat down between the Wesley twins and put his arms around their shoulders. Ron was across them. "Twenty years ago today my father and his friends had the most brilliant idea to wash Snape's hair. Today we are going to attempt to recreate that day."

"And why would..." said one twin.

"...We do that?" continued the other twin.

Harry let out a long suffering sigh. "I thought you guys were great pranksters. My father was labeled to be one of the best. I guess that you really aren't on the best pranksters list. Pity really that you aren't willing to see if Snape's hair is really brown. I guess I can find two other volunteers." Harry stood up but was instantly pulled back down. "Changes your minds?"

"Alright we'll do it." Fred looked into Harry's eyes.

"But we don't want to get caught doing this." George turned him and did the same thing.

"The plan is set to take place an hour before dinner. Good thing it's the weekend because I have a lot to do today. Remember that after we wash Snape's hair we are going up to the Seventh floor. I'm going to pick up Hermione from the library and bring her there. She has no idea I'm throwing her a party. I want it to stay that way." Harry gave Ron a pointed look.

"Why did you look at me like that?" Ron demanded a little too heatedly. Harry was too used to Ron's temper to be bothered by it and ignored him.

He left the table and went down to the kitchens to see if he could get the House Elves make Hermione a birthday cake. This was actually a common request so Harry had no trouble to get the cake. He just had to convince them not to make it too big.

He then went to the Room of Requirement. He didn't use that room the year before and now had no idea why he didn't. The RoR had everything that he ever could want, including the perfect place to have a party.

He was a bit hesitant to show this room to the twins but couldn't just ditch them after the prank. He was excited about the prank but he was taking every precaution that he could so that it couldn't be traced back to him, Ron, and the twins. The cloak was a must. He just wished he had the Marauders' Map. However, he would have to explain some things that couldn't be explained yet.

The dungeon was cool and creepy as ever when they crept down the hall. Snape was in his classroom. All of the class potions were along the walls and out of the way. And Snape was perfectly positioned behind is desk brewing a potion which was a hideous orange. He had no idea that he was in for the second unwanted shower in twenty years. They managed to keep their laughter silent until the bath was over. Ron didn't even snort when they saw that Snape's hair was indeed brown. It was a dark brown but it also was no where near the black that everyone was used to seeing. They ran out of the dungeon and didn't laugh until they reached the first floor.

While they were laughing, Snape was in Dumbledore's office ranting about Harry Potter. His hair was hidden under a hat. He didn't even wear a hat when it burned of in that Bundimun accident the year prior.

"It was Potter I know it was. It was him and his little sidekick, Weasley, maybe more than one of them. They should be severely punished for what they did." He continued to rank even as Dumbledore tried to calm him down. But half of was him talking to himself.

"What can I do about it? You have no way to prove that it was Harry. He is somehow proficient in Occlumency. So you won't be able to get it out of his mind. He's friends are likely learning as well. Harry Potter has many secrets and right now is not the time to try to reveal them or to worry about childish gimmicks."

Dumbledore really couldn't do anything because Snape had no proof. All he did was, say that he would look into it (not that he really would).

It was nearing the time of Hermione's birthday party. He told Neville, Luna, the Weasleys (except Percy who was to busy 'studying') to go to the seventh floor. He gave Ron the present he got Hermione to keep Hermione from getting suspicious.

It was hard to get Hermione out of the library. She was obsessed with reading her Lockhart books and wanted a quite place to read them. It was as though she forgot that it was her birthday.

"Come on 'Mi. Let's go have some fun. You don't turn thirteen everyday. You can put down your books for a few hours just to be with your friends." Harry was purposely talking a little too loudly.

"Harry, just let me finish... what do you mean 'you don't turn thirteen everyday'? I can't believe I almost forgot my birthday."

"You didn't almost forget your birthday. You did forget. That's why you keep me around. That and because I'm cute." Harry had a smug smile on his face.

Hermione let out a sigh and packed up her books so that she could follow Harry. She gave up trying to make Harry stop calling her 'Mi. The boy truly was impossible. But he was right he was kinda cute. Not that she would ever tell him that. She wasn't about to let him know that he knew how to pull the right chains to drive her insane.

Hermione (for the first time Harry could remember) was happy that she left the library. She loved opening her presents that her friends gave her. When she was younger, she didn't have any close friends, so this was a new experience for her. She could have lived without the 'study tools' the twins gave her. Those things were going to bottom of her trunk as soon as possible and weren't coming out until she went home.

Her favorite gift was the red and gold journal from Harry. He put some spells on it so that only she (and Harry though she didn't know that) could open it. It had so many sections in it that she took hours looking though it after the party. She loved the fact that Harry wrote every spell that he put on the journal on the front page.

While they all were eating cake, Luna pulled Harry to one of the corners. She had a worried though as always dreamy look in her eyes. She made sure that no one could hear them.

"Harry, I think that there's something wrong with Ginerva. She's been so distant lately. We were friends but now she spends all her time writing in her diary." Even her voice was less dreamy than usual.

"I noticed it too. I can't help her yet. But I promise that everything will be alright. I just don't know how or when." Harry was glad that someone noticed that something was wrong.

Then in Luna fashion, she changed the subject.

"How's your father? Daddy was hoping to get an interview with him. She was talking in her wispy voice again.

"He's fine but I don't think he'll do an interview... wait, he's not my father. He's just my godfather. I don't think he adopted me or anything. He just has guardianship of me. I'm grateful for just that. It got me away from the Dursleys and they were horrible." Harry was confused at her choice of words and his rambling proved it.

"But you think of him as your father and I think he sees you as his son. I'd be surprised if he didn't. If I were you, I would want him to know. He would want to know how you feel about him." Luna turned away and went to talk to Hermione. That girl would never stop amazing him. At least she acted halfway normal. He smiled and went over to Ron and the twins who were still talking about Snape's hair in low tones so Hermione couldn't hear them. Harry then told them about some of the Marauders more difficult pranks.

A/N I know that it's short but I had a brain freeze for this chapter. I wanted a scene with Harry and Luna and Hermione birthday party seemed like the perfect place.

Sorry that this took so long. Thanks to all my faithful and patient reviewers.


	11. Chapter 11 The Cat on the Wall

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter eleven

Time passed slowly for Harry since Hermione's birthday. He spent all the time her wasn't doing homework listening for the disembodied voice. So far, he hadn't heard it. But that doesn't mean that the Basilisk wasn't on the loose. He tried t remember the first time he heard the voice and it came back to the day he had detention with Lockhart. He didn't have that detention so he was no where near the snake in order to hear it. No that he minded not hearing the snake. It really was creepy

Halloween approached and the castle was preparing for the feast. Harry found that he didn't care. He really didn't like the way everyone got excited around Halloween. Sometimes it seemed to be an even bigger holiday than Christmas. But for Harry it meant the day of his parents death.

He was planning on sneaking out of the castle to meet Remus, Sirius, and Tonks. He wanted to spend the day remembering his family with his... well family.

But for now, he had Quidditch practice, Animagus lessons, and other advanced lessons with his guardians. The last was something he wished he didn't have. He had the ability to do the magic but it always left him tired.

Right now, it was a week until Halloween and Harry was returning from the Quidditch pitch. And he was covered in mud. The situation seemed familiar but for the right of him couldn't remember what happen today. Then he ran into Nearly Headless Nick, literally. And now he was freezing for a different reason.

"Hello, Nick," said Harry through chattering teeth.

"Hello, hello. Are you alright? You seem a bit cold." Apparently, Nick was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that he floated into Harry.

"I just got back from Quidditch." It was only a half truth but that didn't make Harry feel guilty. "Are you alright? You seem to be a bit down."

Nick then prattled on how he wanted to be part of the Headless Hunt in which Harry tried to console him. He didn't have much luck and he didn't want to go to the Deathday party. He already had plans for that night.

Then he looked down at soft accusing mewing. It was Mrs. Norris. Harry wasn't doing anything and he still had twenty minutes until he had to be in the Common Room. And thirty seconds he saw Filch come running trough a passageway. He shook his head as he turned to the man.

"You, come with me." Filch was just looking to get someone in trouble. Harry, however, followed Filch to his office. He took out the parchment and tried to decide what Harry's crime was. A few minutes later, he heard a loud crash from above them. Filch ran out leaving Harry by himself.

He saw the Kwikspell packet and was tempted to look through it again. He also thought of running for it but that would cause trouble. So he sat there and looked around. He saw the draw that was labeled 'confiscated and highly dangerous'. That temptation was too great. He had a few more minutes before Filch returned so he opened the cabinet. He pulled out an old piece of parchment that was blank. He stuffed in his pocket to look at later. Harry ran to his seat when he heard foot steps.

Filch was able to give him detention even all he was doing was loitering. He even flinched when he said that it would be with Lockhart. Apparently, Lockhart requested that Harry to be given detention with him if Harry ever got it. Harry made a resolution to be more careful in the future, so he wouldn't have another detention. The only upside was that the detention was on Sunday instead of Saturday of the game.

Nick found him after Filch let him go. He was still gloomy. And the big question was about to be asked.

"I'm holding a party down in one of the roomier dungeons. Friends will be coming from al over the country. It would be such an _honor _if you would attend..." Harry quickly cut him off.

"I can't go. I have plans for that evening. My da— godfather, third cousin, and uncle are coming to see me. You know how Halloween isn't something that I get into. I really am sorry." Harry hated to disappoint the ghost but the Deathday party just wasn't something he was willing to suffer through again. "I'll see you around and maybe we can have a chat the weekend after Halloween. I do have Quidditch and a detention.

* * *

It was Harry's intention to sneak out of the castle unnoticed. Ron and Neville were already at the feast but Hermione, because she has a kind heart, decided to wait for Harry to come down. But Harry didn't know she was waiting. He didn't see her as he pulled on his invisibility cloak but she saw him. She noticed that it was raining again and hoped Harry wouldn't go outside. But that didn't happen. She followed him as he made his way to the Whomping willow. Hermione could see his footsteps in the mud. He pulled it off just before he reached the tree. 

"HARRY! Where are you going?" she said in her best scolding yet curious voice.

Harry groaned for being so careless. Sirius really needed to teach him stealth (as if Tonks could). He grabbed a stick and prodded the knot that caused the tree to stop moving. It was time for their talk.

"Hurry up. We don't want to stand here in the rain all night. Besides, I'm going to be late if we don't move." Hermione curiously followed him into the tunnel and seized Harry's arm a little too tightly. "Will you relax? I know where we're going." He smiled at her as he tried to loosen her grip.

They were almost to the Shack when Hermione found her voice again. "Harry, where are we going? This seems to going on forever." She let go of his arm at last.

"Well, I was going to the Shrieking Shack to talk to Sirius and Remus but was interrupted. So, now we'll be spending a good hour telling you some of my secrets."

"Who's we?" She looked into Harry's eyes. Harry quickly looked away. It was as though she was looking into his very soul. He hated the affect she had on him.

"You'll see in a minute. I hope you like overtly expensive food. I think I can smell lobster up ahead." Since the summer, lobster became one of his favorite foods.

Harry pushed up the trap door and climbed through. Then he took Hermione's hand and pulled her up. She looked around in awe as Harry led her to the room he knew his family was in.

Hermione screamed as the big black dog jumped on Harry. She only relaxed when she saw that Harry was laughing. She screamed again, when she saw that the dog turned into his godfather. That was when Sirius noticed Hermione.

"Oh no," gasped Sirius.

Then Hermione fainted. Harry thought it would be better to let her wake naturally. Fortunately, for them, that only took fifteen minutes.

"You know Harry; you could have told us that you were bringing your girlfriend." Harry gave Tonks a glare.

"She's not my girlfriend." Then he noticed Hermione was awake. They explained that Sirius was an animagus and was teaching Harry. They thought it would be a way to keep him safe. She surprised them all when she asked if they would teach her as well. They talked for an hour before Harry and Hermione went back up the castle.

Then he heard the voice. The Basilisk.

He followed even though he knew what was going to happen. Hermione trailed after him confused. "What's going on? Where are we going?" she kept asking.

"Shh, I can hear something. I hear a voice." A minute later, they were in the corridor that the message was.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN

OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

Underneath was Mrs. Norris. She was petrified. Harry could help but feel a little guilty. He could have saved her. He began to walk away; dragging Hermione with him but he was too late. A rumbling sound announced that the feast was over and they both would soon be found under the message.

A few seconds after the rumbling stopped Malfoy shouted through the quiet.

"Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next Mudbloods!"

"Idiot," muttered Harry."

And then...

"What's going on here? What's going on?" Filch pushed his way though the crowd. When he saw his cat, he threatened Harry just as he did last time. Then Dumbledore came. And finally, Lockhart led them all to his office ("Egotistical idiot," Harry once again muttered). Only this time Ron wasn't with them. He watched as Dumbledore looked over the cat in silence. Only Lockhart was saying anything. And everyone else wished he would shut up. Probably the only time Harry and Snape would agree on anything.

Filch, of course accused Harry of Petrifying the cat even though he was just a Second Year. even with a Fifth Year education he couldn't have done that to her. He wouldn't here of it when Harry said he didn't do it. He felt Dumbledore try to probe his mind again. He put up his shields and kept him out. Hew knew he couldn't fight him off for long so he kept his eye averted to the side where McGonagall stood.

Snape then caused the most trouble.

"Potter and his girlfriend (She's not my girlfriend) may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why were they in the upstairs corridor at all? Why weren't they at the feast?" Harry wanted to wipe that smirk of his face.

"I don't like Halloween. If you remember from last year, I wasn't at the feast then either. 'Mi was being a good friend and decided to keep me company."

"Why go up that corridor? Why leave your tower at all?"

"I fancied taking a walk. I was done with my homework and didn't feel like staying in the tower." Harry was glad he rehearsed his answers and the Hermione was staying quiet. "If you're wondering about dinner, we had a large lunch and didn't deem it necessary to eat more." Then Snape tried to get into his mind. So Harry let out an ear piercing scream.

"It hurts. What are you doing to me?" He immediately receded out of Harry's mind. The smirk he had was now gone. "I'm going to tell my godfather that you were cursing me. Remus has been training me to keep people out of my head. But he never used such force on me."

There was a very awkward silence.

"You may go" Dumbledore said at last to Harry and Hermione.

Ten minutes later the two of them were telling Ron and Neville what happened in Lockhart's office. Harry would tell the two boys about Sirius on another day.

A/N please review.


	12. Chapter 12 Of Snakes

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter Twelve

Sirius was up in the stands watching Harry play in his second first match against Malfoy. Remus, Tonks, Neville, Ron, and Hermione were sitting around him. Neither Tonks nor the students knew why Remus and Sirius looked so worried. But that didn't last long because they saw that a rogue Bludger was after Harry.

The boy in question looked as though he was having the time of his life. He was dodging the Bludger best as he could. But Fred and George kept getting in the way of looking for the Snitch. He had to get the twins away from him.

When it started to rain Harry quickly put an Impervius charm on his glasses so he could still see clearly. Not that it help with George in front of him. Eventually, George called a time out.

"What's going on? We're being flattened. Fred, George, where were you when that Bludger stopped Angelina from scoring?" He sounded pretty angry.

"We were twenty feet above her, stopping the other Bludger from murdering Harry." George was angry as well. "Someone's fixed it..."

"I don't think it was a student. It would have taken some powerful magic to fix it to go after me. Remember what I told you in the summer George. It's the same culprit." He looked into each of the twins eyes to stop them from saying anything. "I can deal with the Bludger with you two around me I can't do anything. I'll be fine, I promise."

"Don't be thick," said Fred. "It'll take your head off."

"Oliver this is insane," Alicia confronted Wood. "You can't let Harry deal with that thing on his own. Let's..."

"I can do it. I don't want to have to forfeit the game because of a crazy Bludger." He looked as though he was ready to beg. "Please." He had his puppy-dog pout in full blast.

"This is all your fault. ' Get the Snitch or die trying,' what a stupid thing to tell him." George spat at Wood.

Then Madam Hooch joined them and asked if they were ready to resume play. They nodded as Wood told he twins to stay away from Harry. With one last angry look towards Wood, they were all back on their brooms.

And thus began a dance with a Bludger. Harry dived, swooped, and flipped to avoid the Bludger. He was actually enjoying himself despite know what was about to happen. He wasn't looking forward to having a broken arm.

"Training for the ballet, Potter?" That was Harry's cue. He looked at Malfoy and saw the Snitch above his head. He refused to take his eyes off the golden ball. He refused to smile at his victory. Then he felt his arm snap.

While Malfoy was still laughing, he dived toward the obnoxious boy. Malfoy looked terrified. Harry only smirked as he caught the Snitch.

He headed to the ground hoping Sirius or Remus could at least bandage it up so he could see Madam Pomfrey. Three feet from landing, he passed out.

A few minutes later, he came to and saw a blur of black. His arm was in a bandage.

"Oh, hey dad." Harry said this without thinking. "Can you take me to the Hospital Wing? I feel a bit woozy."

Sirius quickly got over the shock of being called 'dad' and bent to pick Harry up. When he heard Harry groan, he knew that Lockhart was behind him. He picked Harry off the ground and turned to face Lockhart. He had his wand out.

"Please move out of the way. I have to get Harry to the Hospital Wing." Sirius sounded rather cold. This shocked many (the girls) in the crowd. Colin just took pictures.

"Not to worry, I can fix his arm. " Lockhart wasn't even fazed by Sirius' tone. All the males in Harry's family hated the cocky attitude.

"Move." Remus' amber eyes gleamed dangerously. When Lockhart didn't budge, Remus punched him so hard that he was knocked out cold. Sirius stepped over him and took him to the Hospital Wing. He left an hour later his arm fixed but still sore so he wore it in a sling.

He told his friends his 'theory' that Dobby was acting on his own. They were reluctant to believe him. House Elves can't usually use their magic unless they had permission. Harry, however, told them that clever House Elves could find loopholes in that rule.

It was late at night when Harry remembered that Colin was going to be Petrified that night. He knew that the boy was star-struck and would go see Lockhart in the Hospital Wing. He had to stop him. He ran down one flight of stairs to check if Colin was in his room. He wasn't.

Harry didn't care about losing House points. He ran out of the Tower to try to find Colin. Fortunately, he grabbed his two-way mirror before he checked on Colin. The feeling of dread that he felt grew with every step. He knew that he was going to be too late.

He finally saw Colin on the third floor landing. He was too late. The boy was Petrified. He had to move or he'll be caught by Professor Dumbledore. Unfortunately, there wasn't anywhere he could hide on this landing. He quickly put up his shields as he made up a story as why he was out of bed. He had to once again have to put his acting skills to use.

"Colin! Colin, wake up. Please, wake up!" Harry shook the 'statue'.

"Harry, what happened?" he looked genuinely confused. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I'm sorry Professor Dumbledore. But I was having this really bad feeling, as if some thing wrong was going to happen. I went to check on the First Years but Colin wasn't in bed or even in the Common Room. I just knew that something was going to happen to him." He looked as though he was close to tears.

"It's alright. Go back to your dorm and try to get some sleep. However, I expect in my office in the morning so we can discuss what happened tonight."

Harry couldn't sleep that night. He just felt too guilty about what happened to Colin. He knew that it wasn't his fault but he couldn't help thinking that if he remembered Colin wouldn't miss his First Year. He was also dreading what Dumbledore was going to say to him. He got out of bed and headed toward the headmaster's office. He would grab a quick bit to eat at the kitchens before Potions.

"Lemon drop," asked the professor. Harry shook his head no, knowing that the candies were laced with potions. "Harry, I just want to know what happened last night."

"I was trying to get to sleep after our victory party but I kept having this really bad feeling that something bad was going to happen. I checked the First Year dorms because something was telling me that there was something wrong in there. When I opened the door, I saw that Colin Creevey was gone. The feeling started to grow stronger. I just found him like that, as though he was suspended in time. He was Petrified just like Mrs. Norris." Harry's story was basically the truth.

"Alright, I believe you." Dumbledore said this as a dismissal. However, Harry saw a gleam in his eyes that he didn't like.

* * *

Time passed and soon it was nearing the end of December. And that meant the dueling club that Lockhart was organizing. He was debating whether or not to go to it. He even asked Sirius if it would be a good idea.

But soon enough it was December 17th, the day that Lockhart started the club. It was half an hour before the meeting that he decided that he would go. He just had to keep his mouth shut when the snake appeared. So at eight o'clock Harry found himself in the Great Hall.

"Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!"

"Yeah, but I wish I couldn't," whispered Harry to Ron, who just sniggered at Harry's comment.

He ignored Lockhart as he spoke. But he did pay rapt attention to the 'duel' between Snape and Lockhart. He had to admit, even though he hated him, Snape was powerfully magical.

As he knew he would be Harry was partnered with Malfoy. His spells were weak compared to Harry's. In fact, Harry didn't even cast a spell; he just dodged them all. It was only a few minutes later when Lockhart called everything to a halt. Harry knew what was coming next and knew what he had to do. When Snape called him and Malfoy to the stage, he did it without any hesitation.

He saw Snape whisper into Malfoy's ear. He looked up the Serpensortia spell in the Black library and saw that the spell was somewhat Dark. But it was perfectly alight to use if it was meant to use as a distraction and not as an actual attack.

He noticed that he wasn't paying attention when Lockhart dropped his wand.

"Scared?" Malfoy saw he had Harry's attention again.

Harry smirked as he said, "You wish."

He was ready. His wand was out and he was determined not to open his mouth. A few moments after Malfoy shouted the spell the serpent was gone. Harry didn't say a word but he used Vipera Evanesca on the snake.

Everyone was silent after the impressive display of wordless magic. Not even Lockhart attempted to steal Harry's glory. Harry stormed out of the room. Ron, Hermione, and Neville followed after him in case they were needed for damage control. They were surprised to see that Harry wasn't upset at all.

"What just happened back there?" Hermione demanded. Harry decided to go with the semi-truth.

"There's something that I haven't told you about. I needed to have your trust before I could tell you."

"What is it?" Hermione put a hand on his arm.

"I'm a Parselmouth. I found out a few years ago that I could talk to snakes. I asked my Uncle Remus about it and explained everything to me. When I found out that wizards saw it as a Dark trait I thought it would be best if I hide the ability for as long as possible." _That story was believable, _thought Harry. "You can't tell anyone, Alright?"

"But how did you get rid of the snake?" asked Neville.

"he very well can't go around talking to snakes. If he opened his mouth he would have hissed or something." Ron sounded rather knowledgeable.

The Three nodded and went back to the Common Room where the entire House (except for Percy who was huffy because a second Year could do Wordless magic before he could) was awake and waiting to see what Harry had to say. Harry groaned and went up to his dorm; not wanting to explain himself again.


	13. Chapter 13 Christmas

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter thirteen

Harry silently moved through Grimmauld Place. He remembered last Christmas and he wasn't about to be the last person awake. He also knew that Sirius also was going to wake early so he didn't get pranked again. Tonks, for some ungodly reason, had always been an early riser so she wasn't in danger of being pranked. So, that just left Remus and...

"Hermione, wake up. You're in grave danger of Sirius' psychotic mind." Harry tried to prod the girl awake.

"'Arry go 'way." She then pulled her blanket closer. But Harry wasn't about to let Sirius get her. So, he stole the blanket from her. She curled into a ball as she tried to stay warm.

"'Mi, get up. It's Christmas. And as a Marauder, it is imperative that you get out of that bed." He took her pillow next. That woke her up somewhat. Then she looked at the clock.

"Harry! I don't care that it's Christmas. You DON'T wake me up at five o'clock in the morning..." She would have continued to rant but Harry put a hand over her mouth. He didn't want to wake anyone. Tonks may have been awake but Sirius and Remus were still asleep.

"Shh. You don't want to wake the others. Sirius or Remus will be up soon so we don't have much time. My family has a tradition to prank the last person awake. It's a type of punishment for making us wait to open our presents. We like to open them together."

"Why? That seems to be a bit immature. I wouldn't think your uncle would do something like that. Sirius, well, I'm not sure what the limits that man has just to have a little fun." Her words were smothered in disapproval but Harry Knew that Hermione was fond of Sirius. It was nearly impossible not to be at least a little attached to the Marauder.

"I told you, its tradition. And who are we to mess with tradition." They went to other topics, such as what they got for the other people in the house. He was proud of the painting that he had Dean Thomas create. It had a wolf, dog, and a puppy in it.

Soon they heard footsteps in the hallway. By the heavy footfalls, Harry could tell that it was Sirius. Harry grabbed Hermione's hand (ignoring the fact that he was doing that way too often) and met Sirius in the hall. Tonks was with him and to everyone else it seemed like a miracle that no one heard her.

Remus was the last one awake. And Sirius had a feral grin on his face. He was seeking revenge.

The four of them quietly snuck into his room. A plan was already in motion. Sirius said some well chosen words before Harry did his Wingardium spell. For some reason he loved that spell. Tonks and Hermione grabbed a feather each. Hermione was going to attack Remus' nose while Tonks got his feet. But that didn't work out because Tonks tripped over a pair of shoes and landed right on top of Remus.

"Eww!" She was covered in chocolate syrup that Sirius smeared over Remus. Then she realized she was on top of Remus and she began to blush. While all that was happening, Remus woke up startled. So startled in fact, that he jumped and he and Tonks both fell out of the bed. Remus landed on top of her.

Harry, Sirius, and Hermione were laughing at the blushing pair. Remus quickly regained his composure and left the room. Tonks chased after him as she apologized. He stopped her as she tried to follow him into one of the bathrooms. Her face was the color of her hair as she ran out and into another.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone (chocolate free) met in the living room to open presents. He couldn't wait for Hermione to open the present his family got for her. It was way better than the book he gave her in the first timeline.

"A watch. Wow, no wonder you only got me one present." It was a feminine version of Harry's watch that he got for his birthday. It didn't take her long to notice this fact.

"Tonksie here picked it out for you. She has great taste in jewelry." Sirius ruffled Tonks green and red hair. She glared at him and quickly pulled his hand away.

"So, Hermione, how far have you gotten with your Animagus training?" Remus hastily asked. "Do you know what your form is yet?"

"I didn't tell you yet. I found out just last night. I'm going to be a cat. But I wish that I wasn't so fluffy. The books were right that Animagi that on traits of the human." The others laughed at that.

Remus, Tonks, and Hermione continued to talk about Animagi while Sirius took Harry to another room to talk to him about what happened after the Quidditch match... and it wasn't about how Remus punched him.

"Harry, what do you remember about what happened the day of the Quidditch match?" Sirius looked into Harry's eyes.

"Nothing really, I only know what Ron told me; though I did get Hermione's opinion of Remus for hitting Lockhart. I can't believe that he would do something like that."

"That's not what I'm talking about. Harry, you called me dad."

"I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You're not my dad. I just want a family, you know?" He looked to the floor not wanting to see the look on Sirius' face. "I really am sorry."

"Harry, Harry look at me. Do you want me to be your dad? I don't want to take James' place. But if you want me to be your dad then I wouldn't say no." He put a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"You would adopt me. But why?" He finally into Sirius' eyes again.

"Because you deserve to be happy, Harry. You deserve to be safe. With me as just your guardian, it would be easier to take custody of away from me. But if I were your dad, no one could take you from me, not even the Dursleys."

"You think that they would try to get me back." Harry looked a little worried about that.

"No but I think that Dumbledore will try to take you from me. He seems to want to keep you in the dark as much as possible. You know that. You know how he's treated you in your future. He didn't even train you right. He didn't even tell you that you're the heir of Gryffindor."

"I'M WHAT!?!"

"Don't be so shocked Harry. Why else would Voldemort keep going after your dad?" He seemed to think that this was supposed to be common knowledge.

"I thought it was because he married my mum. The prophecy said that they defied Voldemort three times."

"James faced Voldemort more than three times. Both of your parents, when they were together, defied him three times. James was an incredibly powerful wizard. If he had lived, his powers would have rivaled Dumbledore's. One day you will be that strong.

"But we are way off topic. So, do you really want me to adopt you?"

"Yes."

The rest of the day went by cheerfully. Around lunch time, Ted and Andromeda showed up. They brought more gifts for everyone because didn't believe that it was humane to allow owls to fly during the winter. They even got a book for Hermione. They didn't care that they didn't know her. She was a friend of their 'nephew' and they didn't want her to feel left out.

The Marauders and the Marauders in training has a snowball fight. Whenever no one was looking, she magic'd a snowball at Remus, though no one was able to hit him that often. Ted and Andromeda laughed at them all as they drank some hot cocoa that Remus made (the one thing other than tea that he could make better than Sirius).

Sirius and Remus set off a firework show in the back yard. They didn't go too high so the Muggles couldn't see them. But the show was still brilliant. A lot more amazing than the ones Fred and George would display (not including the Weasley Wizbangs). Harry didn't know who was more excited to see the show, he and Hermione or Remus and Sirius. The two men were veterans when it came to firework shows so the Tonks had already seen what they could do. But they were always amazed at what the two could do.

Toward the end of the show, the adults noticed that the kids were nodding off in their chairs. Hermione was actually curled up in a little ball. The three who knew that she was a cat Animagus thought it was hilarious. Harry was sprawled out next to her, trying to steal a blanket away from her. For the adults, it was an 'aawww' moment.

* * *

A few days before Harry and Hermione were due to return to Hogwarts, Sirius took Harry to the Ministry of Magic. Harry really didn't like the building. But he knew that he had to go if he wanted Sirius to be his dad. It was a bit odd to see the Atrium was covered in snow that went to his waist. 

This time, however, they didn't have to go all the way down to the dudgeons. The mood in the department was busy but cheerful. It wasn't like the other floors (not including the Department of Sports and Games).

But that doesn't mean that Harry wasn't nervous. These were the people who would decide whether ort not Sirius could adopt Harry.

Emmeline Vance, the woman who they talked to, asked a lot of question. She smiled when Sirius told her that he couldn't tell her their address. Harry guessed she liked the idea of the Fidelius charm on their home. But he also noticed that she didn't like the fact that Sirius didn't have an income. Harry realized that Emmeline didn't know that much about the Black family. So, Sirius told her she just smiled and nodded. The questions went on for more than an hour.

"Well, you do have a good application. I will have to review this with the Wizengamot. So you will have your answer within the month."

A/N sorry for the wait. Thanks for the reviews


	14. Chapter 14 Harry What?

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter fourteen

When Harry and Hermione returned to Hogwarts, they finally told Ron and Neville that they were learning to become Animagi. Ron was a little upset that they didn't tell him but quickly cheered up when they told him that they would also teach them. Remus and Sirius didn't seem to mind all the extra students Harry kept bringing them. He knew that during the next year they would also have Ginny and Luna.

But they were upset when they heard that Justin Fitch-Fletchley had been Petrified. Harry was becoming more and more depress each time that he failed to protect one of his friends (or the cat of a man that hated him). At least this time no one thought that he was the heir of Slytherin. But Malfoy was now the main suspect because he and his friends stayed at school for Christmas. Malfoy did seem to be the type and Harry was having a hard time trying to convince the school otherwise. Malfoy took this as an opportunity to taunt Harry.

"Jealous that don't have a well-known ancestor, Potter? Do you think that you aren't famous enough as it is?" he sneered at Harry.

"Why would I be jealous? Salazar Slytherin was a heartless git who didn't give a rat's arse about equality. Besides, he looks like a monkey on his Chocolate Frog card. Why would I wan t to be related to a monkey? It's bad enough I'm related to you, Cousin." The crowd around them laughed.

In January Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville found Riddle's diary in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harry never did explain to his friends why he went into the bathroom. He just felt compelled to go in there and ask Myrtle about what happened the day that Mrs. Norris was attacked.

Harry didn't even bother writing in the diary but he decided that he wouldn't tell the others what the diary showed him when he did write in it in the first timeline. In fact, he had no clue what to do with the diary now. He knew that Ginny wouldn't be free of Voldemort until the diary was destroyed. The only problem with that is he didn't how to destroy it. Last time he had a giant snake destroy it; this time he had no such luxury.

Harry was happy that he kept the journal because he knew that if he didn't he would make a slip and say things that he shouldn't.

He was debating with himself nearly every day whether he should tell McGonagall the truth. With the way that she treated him in this timeline, he knew that he could trust her. But he wasn't sure that she could block Dumbledore from raping her mind. He had to make sure that she knew Occlumency before he told her.

It was nearing the middle of February and neither Harry nor Sirius heard whether the adoption was approved or not. Not that nothing happen during that time. During one of Harry and Hermione's Animagus lessons, Hermione managed to grow a long, bushy, brown tail. But she couldn't undo the transfiguration and Sirius couldn't figure out how to git rid of it. He knew that James had that problem before but he had to wait for it to go away on its own. But it is much harder to hide a stag's tail than it is to hide a cat's tail. Fortunately, Harry had been practicing disillusionment charms since after Christmas and was nearly as good at them as Tonks. The bad thing though was that they wore off after a few hours but she woke up before her dorm mates no one would find out about the tail.

Hermione wasn't the only one who advanced in their Animagi lessons; Harry had dog ears on the top of his head for two hours. He was able to get rid of them but Sirius wouldn't stop laughing at him. Well that is until Harry cursed Sirius with ears identical to his own until he could change them back.

Ron was close to finding his animal. He knew that he was very small and had red fur. But Ron really didn't care. Neville on the other hand couldn't get the hang of meditation. His toad always got in his way. But whenever the boys tried to find the toad, it was nowhere to be found. Harry thought that to a bit strange. But he didn't have time to think about it.

Valentines Day came and Harry put a dwarf repelling charm on himself. He wasn't sure if it was a real charm or just a variant of a different charm that he created himself. But he was grateful that he didn't have to suffer through that horrible 'poem'.

The next day Harry called Sirius on he two-way mirrors.

"Hey, Pronglet, I have good news. I heard from Emmeline." But from his dad's expression, he also had bad news.

"And..."

"Well, the bad news is that we have to go in front of the Wizengamot and present our case. I'm sorry Harry. I wish I didn't have to put you through this."

"You wouldn't have to if it were any other kid. They're only doing this because I'm the famous Harry Potter. I really hate this, Dad. Why can't they just treat me like a normal kid?" He then heard a snort. "I know that I'm not normal but they don't have to rub it in."

"Harry, I think Dumbledore is behind this. He's the only one who would have a problem with this. Besides, the Wizengamot would have to be idiots to deny someone a family. The good thing is that I can choose the date of the hearing. So do you want to miss Potions or Defense?" Sirius seemed to know what the answer would be.

"I would love to miss Snape's class but he would take points from me and give me detention for skipping class even though I would have permission. Defense is useless the way Lockhart teaches it. I can teach better than he can!

"I have to go talk to Professor McGonagall and let her know that I won't be in school that day. See ya Thursday Dad."

When Harry said bye to Sirius, his friends came to his dorm looking for him. This group included Ginny. She had never been in he boys' dorm before so Harry didn't think to hide Riddle's diary. When Ginny saw the diary, her eyes widen. He knew that the diary would be gone on Thursday. He knew that trying to hide it would be pointless, as it would raise suspicions from Ron.

Thursday came and Harry was writing in his journal before Sirius came to pick him up. Harry was finding himself too busy to write in it everyday. Mostly he was recording Ginny's behavior. He felt weird doing that but he trying to figure out any patterns in the attacks. But now he was writing something else.

_February 18, 1993_

_I'm afraid; afraid that I'll lose the only family that I have ever known. Even though he made a mistake last year, he still has a lot of power. My only real hope is Ms. Vance and Fudge. _

_But even if the adoption is denied, Sirius will be my dad. It doesn't matter to me that it isn't legal. But I want it so much that it hurts. This was taken away from me too many times that I don't think I would be able to take it one more time. _

_McGonagall gave me the whole day off. Since I don't have class again until tomorrow afternoon, I don't have to return until then. I hope that I don't stress Hermione out too much by not telling her right away. I also told Luna to keep an eye out for Ginny. I know that the next attack won't be for a while but I don't want to take any chances that Tom would get restless and make another attack that didn't happen before. _

_Ron is a bit jealous that I get to skip classes again. But he understands why I have to d this. At least I hope he does. I think he's been a bit distant from me. He doesn't talk to Hermione that often either. I don't understand why though. He also glares at me all the time. _

_Well, my dad is here now so I have to put this away for now.

* * *

_

Sirius and Harry sat side by side in front of the entire Wizengamot. Harry wished he were as calm as he looked. He took a glance at Sirius. Harry would have thought he was calm but he saw that Sirius had worry lines around his eyes. This actually calmed Harry a little.

"Let's just skip all the formalities," Fudge stated the second that he sat down. It was obvious that this hearing was pointless. They were a majority rules court anyways. Besides, they were only doing this because they had to have a meeting soon anyways and it was always a good idea to humor the Headmaster. "Ms. Vance, do you think Mr. Black would be a good father for Harry?"

"Yes Minister. I have never seen so many protective charms put onto on house. Sirius' overprotective attitude proves that he cares for Harry very much. It was nearly impossible for me to enter the house."

"Enough of that! Harry Potter would only be safe if he lived with his blood relatives," Dumbledore yelled from his seat the row behind the Minister.

Harry smirked at this. He knew that the closer to the front the more power of authority you had. He even heard some of the members say, "Not this again." it seemed to Harry that even the Wizengamot was getting tired of the way that Dumbledore was treating Harry.

"I think that this is an open and close case. Who here thinks that Sirius Orion Black should be given full parental rights of Harry James Potter?" Harry's smirk grew even wider when he saw that nearly every hand went up. "And who disagrees?" Harry saw only one hand go up and rolled his eyes. "It is decided. Harry Potter will now be known as Harry Potter-Black." Fudge said this with a smile on his face.

Cheers could be heard throughout the entire Ministry building.

A/N I thought I should do a cliffy but decided that is was too obvious that I was going to give Harry to Sirius.

I don't know what month Harry found Riddle diary but he seems to have it for a while before he writes in it. I'm guess between 2 and 3 weeks.

The thing about the Wizengamot isn't canon but it does make sense.


	15. Chapter 15 The Flower's Guide

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter fifteen

The rest of February passed quickly. With March came Ron's thirteenth birthday, which Harry snuck out of Hogwarts, and bought Ron some candy from Honeyduke's. If asked, he said Tonks got it for him. Not that anyone believed him. They had a party in the Room of Requirement. This time Ginny was missing. Luna once again told Harry bout her concerns over Ginny. The poor girl was become paler by the day.

The party didn't last long because Harry and the twins had Quidditch practice. But the guests were more than welcome to watch and have cake in the stands. They weren't surprised to see the Hufflepuff team walking out of the pitch. They exchanged some friendly banter (except for Wood who was silent during to whole thing).

Harry practiced his hardest even though he wasn't sure if the match was going to be played or not. He was going to save at least Hermione from the Basilisk's gaze. He was going to do it even it cost him the Quidditch game.

Ron was still cold towards Harry and Hermione. Neither one of them knew why nor neither of them had the guts to ask him.

The only time he seemed normal was during Animagus lessons; that was only because Sirius kept giving him looks if he didn't talk to Harry and Hermione. Ron would never admit it but Sirius did scare him a little. The man was brilliant.

But during one lesson, everything came out in the open. Ron seemed to extra angry that day for some reason and didn't care that Sirius was giving him the "Look'.

Sirius had been giving Ron a one on one tutorial since he found out that he was going to be a squirrel. Ron was slightly miffed about that but it was as though he could choose his form. And Neville was still meditating with Remus help.

Harry and Hermione were discussing Ginny. Harry was telling them that he thought there was something wrong with her. Ron knew that they were talking about her but didn't know why. Within five minutes Ron was red with angry. He turned away from Sirius and faced Harry.

"You know I don't appreciate you staring at my BABY SISTER!" Ron glared at Harry. Harry finally realized why Ron was so angry with him...

...Ron thought Harry fancied Ginny.

Harry suppressed his laughter.

"Ron, it isn't what you think." He tried to talk to Ron.

"Oh please Harry, I'm not stupid. You're always looking at her. Everyone knows that you fancy her." He glared at Harry. It was obvious that he wasn't going to listen to Harry. So, being uncharacteristically brave, Neville stood up for Harry.

"Harry doesn't like Ginny that way. We were just talking about how weird she's been acting. She's been too quiet and we're worried about her. The person she used to be shy around was Harry but that was only because he's famous." Harry glared at Neville. "Now though, she doesn't talk to anyone; not even to Luna."

"So, you don't like her?" Ron's comment was an obvious question.

"No, I don't like her. And when I do like someone you'll be the fifth person to know." That was said jokingly but Ron didn't get the joke.

"Why the fifth person?" Harry slapped his forehead at Ron's thickness. But he kept on with the joke. Neville, Hermione, and the adults understood it and were silently laughing at Ron.

"Well, obviously the girl would be the first one to know. Then I'd have to tell my Dad that I had a girlfriend or not. And since he can't keep a secret to save his life, he would tell Uncle Remus," Remus perked up and the word 'uncle', "and Tonks. Theoretically, you could be the third person but that depends on whether I find you before Dad finds Uncle Remus and Tonks. But that won't be for a long time since I don't fancy a girl right now."

Ron still didn't know that it was a joke until everyone in the room dissolved in laughter. He tried to glare at Harry for teasing him but he too ended up chuckling as well.

They all went back to practicing and Neville was still saying that he could hear Trevor. Harry had a theory and asked the other about it. When he saw everyone agreed with him and decided that it was best that Remus told Nev Harry's idea.

"Do think it's possible that your form is a toad? It would explain why you could hear Trevor when you meditate. I could be coming inside of you." He looked a little downcast when he was told that he was a toad. But Ron made him feel better.

"Just be glad that you aren't a squirrel." Ron has a rather fuzzy face. They all started to laugh again. "I'd swap with you any day."

"I'm just impressed with the progress you all have been making. It took us a year to get as far as you are." Sirius had a huge smile on his face. But that quickly disappeared.

"But you three didn't have anyone teaching you and you had to help Pettigrew," said Hermione.

"You just had to bring that up, didn't you?" Harry whispered to her. She began to flush when she realized what she said. Pettigrew was obviously a sore topic for the small family.

"Sorry." She looked into Sirius pain filled eyes.

"Well, it's getting late. You four should get back to the castle. I'll see you same time next week." He quickly ushered the kids out the door.

* * *

It was a few days later when Harry remember the piece of parchment that he swiped from Filch's office back in October. He had an idea what it could have been but it was highly unlikely. But from reading Lily's diary, he knew that it was wroth trying. He said the password he saw in the diary and was amazed at what he saw.

The top of the parchment read 'The Flower's Guide'.

It seemed to Harry that Filch really was a packrat. Who keeps things from nearly twenty years ago? Harry shook his head of the thought. It didn't matter. Right now, he had an invaluable piece of parchment that he had go over.

He spent hours going over the parchment. He knew that his mum was a brilliant witch but no one told him that she was a genius. The things that she wrote were amazing. She created charms and potions when she was just a First Year! Not even Hermione did that.

Lily also had gorgeous still drawings. She drew everything. Hogwarts. His dad. The other Marauders. Even herself. She had a lot of drawings of the girl Harry saw only in a photo once. He couldn't remember her name but since she was standing next to Sirius in the photo, he knew that he might know her.

He would ask him later with the mirrors.

At the bottom of the page was a note from his mother.

_To the one who found this Guide,_

_I applaud you that you were able to open this guide. Even with the password, the blood-bond on this parchment had to deem you worthy to see the contents of the Guide. You must have the qualities of all four Hogwarts Houses: bravery, intelligence, loyalty, and ambition. _

_I implore you to use the spell and potions with great care. If misused the consequences could be devastating. But as you have a pure heart, I trust you with the Guide. _

_We live in Dark times and I hope that these spell and potions can be used to destroy those who wish for these Dark times to continue._

_I wish I could say more to you but I don't think anything I can say can urge you to use this Guide with care. _

_Use it well,_

_Lily 'Flower' Evans_

Harry was astounded by the magic on the parchment (and his mother's vocabulary). How could an eighteen-year-old do such magic?

Harry didn't understand why it was confiscated in the first place. Did his mother plant the parchment in Filch's office? Did he catch her writing it and decided that it was dangerous? He would probably never know. It didn't even matter really. What did matter was the fact that he had it know.

He was extraordinarily proud of his mother; not that he wasn't before. She had saved his life so he had every reason to be proud of her.

It was getting late so he put the Guide away and decided that he would talk to his dad in the morning.

* * *

Unfortunately, for Harry, his friends let him sleep in. He missed breakfast and was nearly late for Herbology. He took the chance to take a peak at the mandrakes and thanked Merlin that the greenhouse had been soundproofed because the plants were throwing a rather loud (at least it looked loud) party.

DADA was nearly unbearable. Lockhart was still badmouthing Sirius. At this point even Hermione didn't care too much about his attitude but she still believed that he did the things in his books. Harry was just happy that she didn't fancy the irritating git. He once again gave them homework about himself. Harry sighed as he made up insulting answers. Lockhart didn't even look at it so Harry didn't worry about failing the class (though Hermione often did). He didn't even remind her that he was at the top of the class.

Snape gave them more homework than a Fifth Year would get all year. So he stayed up late trying to get it all done. He was amazed at how much he had forgotten for such simple potions and he monthly made Remus the modified wolfsbane

So all in all, he didn't get a chance to talk to Sirius until late Friday night.

"Harry you know that I'm going to see you tomorrow, right?" He had amused tone in his voice.

"Yeah, but I have a question about a few things." Harry however was completely professional and that threw Sirius.

"Go on, shoot."

"Tell me what you know about the "Flower's Guide."

"Harry, do you have the Guide?" Sirius wasn't expecting that.

"I got from Filch." Sirius didn't need to know that he nicked it from his office.

"When did you nick it from the old Squib?" He was once again amused.

"A few months ago but I only remember it a few days ago. I had no idea what it was when I _borrowed _it." Sirius snorted.

He basically told Harry everything he already knew about the Guide. But apparently, he didn't know about the drawings because he blanched when Harry mentioned the girl. But he didn't say anything about her except that she was a 'good friend'. This put Harry in full research mode.

A/N A brownie to the first person to tell me who the mystery girl is.


	16. Chapter 16 The Story of Dorcas Meadowes

I don't own Harry Potter. This chapter is dedicated to the only person who guessed the girl's name. Congratulations to SailorHecate.

Chapter sixteen

Harry was getting no where fast in his search to find the mystery girl. He knew that he couldn't ask any of the teachers because he would have to show them the Flower's Guide. He wasn't about to do that since a lot to the stuff the Guide had in it wasn't appropriate for a twelve-year-old.

He also couldn't go to Ron, Hermione, or Neville. Ron wouldn't care and Hermione would be more interested in the spells to care about the girl. Neville probably wouldn't have been able to keep it as a secret.

That left Tonks and Remus. Tonks might not know because she was too young the last war. Remus might be as reluctant as Sirius to tell him. But it was always worth trying. But he didn't get a chance to do so until the following weekend because Remus and Tonks were both busy (with and without the other).

However, Harry was patient. He learned that a long time ago. He had with Sirius Black as his father and Nymphadora Tonks as a 'cousin'. He would have lost his mind a long time ago if he weren't patient with the way that they behaved. They acted like a couple of kids at times. But he wouldn't have them any other way.

He decided to ask Tonks first. She seemed to be safer to ask than Remus as Sirius might have talked to him. Sometimes Harry wished that he were a Legilimens at times like this and that he didn't teach his family Occlumency.

"Tonks, did Dad tell you that I found my Mum's Flower Guide that she created? Do you know anything about it?" Harry gave her big begging eyes. She always fell for his eyes.

"Not much really. I only knew your Mum for a few years before she died. She never even mentioned the Guide to me. Sirius told me about it last week. He only told me about the spells that were in it. Sorry that's all I can tell you." She ruffled Harry's hair the same way she saw Sirius did.

Harry felt like he struck out when he talked to Tonks. But she was right; she didn't know Lily that well. She seemed to be sad about that. It must be because she knew how wonderful Lily was.

He asked Remus next. He knew more on how the Guide was created because he helped Lily with some of the charms placed on it. He even came up with the idea to put a password on it; though he never knew what it was because Lily refused to tell him. Remus was the only Marauder that Lily trusted before their Seventh Year.

He all he learned about the girl was that he name was Dorcas Meadowes and that she was Lily's best friend. But Harry knew that there had to be more than that to the story. Why didn't Sirius tell him that when he called him? Why did everyone refuse to talk bout her?

Now that he had a name, he could ask his professors about Miss. Meadowes. He knew that he had to avoid some professors such as Snape and Dumbledore about her. Professor McGonagall seemed to be the best option (and only one for that matter).

But right now, the four students had Animagus training. Remus and Tonks weren't really there for nothing more than support, as all four of them knew what their animals were going to be.

Neville surprised them all when he managed too turn his skin a light brown color that was the toad. He had only been practicing that part of the transformation and was nearly as far as his friends. Harry was by far the furthest along. But then again he also had more practice than the others did. Sirius told him in private that he should be able to completely transform by the end of the school year. This surprised Harry because it took the three Marauders three years to manage the transfiguration. Remus told them it was because the four of them had a teacher while the Marauders didn't.

At the moment, Harry was walking around with a bushy tail and ears. His eyes also changed shape slightly. For some reason his tail wouldn't stop wagging. Harry found that quite irritating. Tonks wouldn't stop laughing at him so he hit her in the face with his tail before untransfiguring his bum. But he kept the ears for some reason Harry didn't want to disclose.

Hermione also had a tail and ears. However, she also had whiskers. Harry thought she was kinda cute like that. None of them would be very surprised if she managed the transfiguration soon after Harry even though she hadn't been practicing as long as he had. The three adults were impressed by her magical strength. They knew that one day she would be more powerful than they are.

Ron was still only capable of making red and white fuzz appear on his body. He tried to make a tail but he just couldn't do it yet. He was disappointed but understood why he wasn't as far as Harry and Hermione. Harry was surprised that he wasn't jealous of the two. Maybe he was going to be different from what Harry knew him to be.

* * *

Harry waited until everyone left the Transfiguration classroom before he approached his favorite teacher. McGonagall was surprised that Harry wanted to talk to her. They haven't really had the chance because all that had been going on.

"Can I help you Harry?" Harry smiled at the fact she was still using his fist name.

"Professor, I came across the name of one of my Mum's friends. I was hoping that you could tell me about Dorcas Meadowes. I'll I got from Sirius was that she was a good friend." Harry gave her the 'feel sorry for me look' that he knew no one but his dad could resist.

"I'm not if I'm the best person to tell the story of Dorcas. Sirius and Remus knew her a lot better than any of her professors did." She caved in when she looked into Harry's eyes again. "Dorcas was in Gryffindor with your parents. She was shy, much like Mr. Longbottom. But Lily, your mother, could always get her out of her shell.

"Before her Sixth Year, her parents were murdered by Death Eaters while they where shopping for her school supplies. She was Muggle-born so she went to live with your mother until she finished school. At that moment, she vowed that she would get revenge for her parents' deaths.

"It would never happen.

"During her last year at Hogwarts she grew very close to Sirius. I knew that they were meant for each other. She was the only one who could tame Sirius' wild behavior. The only love that was stronger than theirs was Lily and James' love for each other.

"As far as I know, Sirius and Dorcas were engaged to be married. Not many people knew that. After Sirius apparent betrayal, most forced themselves to forget that they were in love."

"What happened to her?"

"Soon after her nineteenth birthday she was personally murdered by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Everyone believed that Sirius betrayed her as well when he was exposed as a traitor. Now that we know that Peter Pettigrew was the spy, we think that it's possible that he turned her to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to prove that he severed ties with his friends.

"We should have known that Sirius wasn't the spy with the way that he acted at her funeral. She was so quiet and broken. He wouldn't speak much for months after her death. Only Lily could comfort him after he accepted that he would never see Dorcas again.

"You know what happened after that. Your parents were killed and he was sent to Azkaban. It truly is a miracle that he didn't go insane in Azkaban. His past has been as unfair as yours had been."

"I guess that's why we are so close. We can understand each other in a way no one else can. I really appreciate that you told me all of this. Maybe now that I know what happened to her, my Dad will be a little more willing to tell me more about her."

* * *

It was a few hours later when Harry was comfortable enough to talk to his dad about Dorcas. He grabbed his two-way mirror and went to the Room of Requirements so they have some privacy to talk. He only told Hermione where he was going so no one would worry about him.

"Hey, Pronglet. What do you need?" He was actually cheerful and Harry was going to use that to his advantage.

"Dad, we need to talk about that girl. Remus told me her name was Dorcas Meadowes but that was all. I went to McGonagall about her and she told me everything she knew about her. So tell me the rest of her story."

"Harry, I can't tell you. It's all in the past and there's no reason to dredge it up." He was no longer chipper. "It's none of your business."

"What do you mean by that? She would have been my godmother if she hadn't died. You almost married Dorcas."

"I did marry her!" Sirius yelled. "We were married for a month before that rat turned her in. She was pregnant, Harry. The bastard killed my baby and I could do nothing to stop him."

"What happened that day, Dad?" Sirius could barely hear him.

"We were sitting at home getting ready for an Order meeting. We were going to tell everyone that night because we knew that we couldn't hide it forever. Only Albus and your parents knew that we were married. We were so happy even tough everything around us was becoming Dark.

"Voldemort came to our house. I tried to fight him off but I couldn't do it. He petrified me. Of all the spells he could have used he could have chosen, he chose a First Year hex. He grabbed Dorcas from her hiding place and killed her right in front of me. Then he just left.

"That's the whole insult of it all. Even though I am a blood traitor, he let me live. She died because she was a Muggle-born." He took a deep breath before he continued.

"I couldn't even scream because of the hex he placed on me. But that's all I wanted to do was scream. It only took the Order an hour to realize that something was wrong. James was the one who found us. I told him what happened but nothing more. I barely said a word after that. Dorcas was the only reason I stayed in the Order after that. I wanted my revenge.

"Then you were born and the Prophecy was made. I made a promise that I would at least keep you safe. You kept me determined after I left Dorcas. Lily told me that if you have been a girl you would have been named after Dorcas."

"I'm sorry Dad. I promise that I won't tell anyone what you told me."

A/N. Sorry for any lack of action in this chapter. I wanted to explain why Sirius was sometimes depressed in Harry's future. I knew that it had more to it than him being alone at Grimmauld.


	17. Chapter 17 Another Journal Entry

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter seventeen

_March 24, 1993_

_I wish that I didn't ask my dad about Dorcas. I should have stopped when everyone was secretive about her. But I had every right to know who my mum's friends were. I know nothing about her. _

_But why did Voldemort let him live? I don't understand that. He had the perfect opportunity to kill him but all he did was petrify him. It makes no sense. Voldemort hated him for being a blood-traitor. So, why not get rid of him while he had the chance?_

_I am studying for the exams even though we probably won't have them. It is so much easier to remember things now that I have the basics of Occlumency down. The fact that I more advanced books than anyone else doesn't hurt either. But a lot of things that I'm learning in class is kinda silly. _

_The Weasley twins are getting very paranoid around my friends and me. They seem to think that we are going to pull this huge prank on them. I don't know why but I'll go with it. I just need to come up with a prank._

_March 31, 1993_

_The twins' birthday is tomorrow and I still don't have a prank for them. But seeing them so paranoid is kinda funny._

_But then again I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. I have Potions again and that means Snape and Malfoy. _

_April 2, 1993_

_It's after midnight so I don't have that much time to write._

_We pulled a prank without actually pulling a prank. Does that even make any sense? The twins were so tense that, that alone was funny. Whenever someone approached them, they would jump a mile. They always looked around corners. They even refused to eat all day. _

_Malfoy called Hermione a Mudblood again during Potions. And once again, Snape didn't do anything about it. I hate this. That they can get away with the way that they treat her. The worst part is Hermione gets used to it. She shouldn't have to do that. I really hate this. I wish this is something that I could change. _

_And speaking of Hermione and changes, I have until May 8th to figure everything out so that I can save her. I can't let her get Petrified. I need her. _

_The others are snoring now, so I really have to go. _

_April 5, 1993_

_It's midnight again. I hate that I don't have any time to myself any more. With Quidditch, homework, friends, Animagus training, and just spending time talking the old dogs I just can't get everything done. Oh and I can't forget my training that I do every morning to keep in shape. Moony was right, wizards are lazy when it comes to physical training. _

_I'm glad that I have help this time. Scratch that, I'm glad I know what is happening this time. I still can't stop everything but I can make things easier. I help us survive. _

_I can say that things are very odd around here. It's like everyone is waiting for something. Actually, they are waiting for the next attack. Everyone is moving around in groups. _

_Except for the Slytherins that is. _

_They think that the behavior of the Muggle-borns is hilarious. I hear them taking bets on who is going to be next. It makes me sick since the majority is hoping that it going to be Hermione. I'm going to let that happen over my dead body. I refuse to let anything happen to her. _

_April 8, 1993_

_I am so tired it isn't funny. Hermione, Ron, and Neville are pushing me to sleep more. They don't understand that I can't sleep. Insomnia bites. But it also gives me a lot of time to think._

_Ron says I think too much and that caused him and Hermione to get into another fight. So now they aren't talking to each other... again. I can't see why they can't just be friends. They only tolerate each other for my sake. And to think that they were close to being a couple in the other timeline. But now I don't see that happening. _

_Ginny is talking to people again but she's always so pale. I wish I could help her. Luna is still keeping an eye on her. It's just that she can only do so much to keep her safe. I hate feeling so helpless. But I can't do anything. _

_I hope that I don't screw things up. _

_April 11, 1993 _

_Today is Easter. Even though I have a lot of homework during this week, I was actually looking forward to it. The four of us snuck out to the Shack so we could have a party with my family. Tonks' hair was a light pink for the occasion. Uncle Remus couldn't stop looking at it. At one point, he said that he preferred it in bubblegum. Dad just cracked up laughing when he said that. _

_Dad gave me the week to relax. So all I have to is my daily jog around the lake. I would have done that anyways. I mean what else is there to do at six in the morning. _

_April 13, 1993_

_Ah, time to choose next years classes. I'm actually putting more consideration into what I am going to study. I know that I don't want to take Muggle Studies because I was raised as a Muggle. _

_I have to Divination. Not because I learned something in her class but because I want to be around Trelawney in case I she makes a prediction. I know that most of the time she's a fraud but she was the one who predicted my birth. _

_I think I'll take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes so that I won't be bored for the next three years. I have to learn something. _

_I convinced Hermione not to take Muggle Studies. I don't really know how I did it. But I'm glad that I did. I realize that we are both taking a extra full schedule but this time I'll be there for her. _

_April 15, 1993_

_It's only Thursday and I'm already bored. I have all my homework done (Uncle Remus would have frowned down on me if he knew that I left it till last minute). I played several games of chess with Ron. I maybe older than him but I still can't beat him in chess. _

_So, lately I have been psycho-analyzing everyone that I know now to the one I knew before. Let's just say that what I found is interesting. Some, like Ron and Luna, are almost exactly the same as before. Yet others are completely different. _

_Professor McGonagall is one who is different. She's more protective of me than before. I kinda like the relationship that we have. I can actually talk to her if I need to. While I know she's loyal to Dumbledore to an extent, she won't tell him anything that concerns me on a personal level. I'm going to ask her if she knows Occlumency. She is risking a lot for me. _

'_Mi is also different. She is so much more relaxed. More like how she was in Fifth Year (except for when it came to her O.W.L.'s). She doesn't have to be perfect. I like her like that. And if Ron has a bout of jealousy, I wouldn't mind spending my time alone with her. She still spends a lot of hr time reading but she also likes to play games._

_April 19, 1993_

_Class started again today and what a wonderful way to start the week with Potions. I know that I'm the best brewing in the class. Snape knows that I'm the best brewer in the class. So why in Merlin's name am I barely passing? I could create a whole new potion and Snape would say that I was cheating. _

_I went to McGonagall and she said that she couldn't do anything about it. She can only make sure that I don't have any unreasonable detentions. But that's what a Head of House is supposed to do. It's not as if she can sit in on all of my classes to see that I'm not being mistreated. And it's not likely that Dumbledore is going to do anything about it. _

_I just needed to rant and my Dad isn't the best person to rant about Snape to. _

_April 21, 1993_

_You know I don't get why we have to have Potions twice a week. I wish I could drop Potions. I'm not learning anything. Maybe I should ask to test out of it and do Sixth and Seventh Year work though correspondence. I can make wolfsbane; I think I can handle tough Potions. _

_I really have to stop complaining about Snape. I'm stating to annoy myself. I wasn't even sure that was possible. _

_Oh well, I have to get to bed. Hermione is getting even more worried about me. And that's saying a lot because she's always worried about me. _

_April 24, 1993_

_I'm getting so close in completing my Animagus transformation. It's frustrating that I can't become a full wolf-dog. But Dad said it was remarkable that I'm already this far. The body of a twelve-year-old isn't supposed to be able to handle any kind of human transfiguration. _

_Hermione is close too. But she can't quite manage the fur yet. It's actually funny if you think about it. But she really didn't appreciate the laughter from Ron and Neville. _

_April 30, 1993_

_Well this is the last entry for a while for my personal journal. I'm too busy with planning the whole 'saving Hermione' thing._

A/N This one is almost over. I think I'll have less than five more chapters.


	18. Chapter 18 The Truth Comes Out

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter eighteen

It was all his fault. He knew it was. There was no denying it. His actions nearly cost a girl her life...

* * *

THREE DAYS EARLIER

The day was like any other day for a Quidditch match. The weather was perfect. The sky was bright blue with a few clouds. Everyone was looking forward to the upcoming game.

That was everyone but Harry. He kept having this bad feeling that he forgot something... or someone. He just couldn't figure out what it was. But then he heard it. It was the voice of the Basilisk.

"_Kill this time...let me rip... tear..."_

"The voice! I wish I knew what it was."

Just like the first time Hermione started to run off to the library. Harry stopped her. He said that she could go to the library after the match. But he still felt like he was forgetting something. He was walking out of the Entrance Hall when he remembered who else was Petrified that day.

"Percy, I'll be right back. I promise that I won't miss the match." Penelope told her boyfriend. She gave him a peck on the cheek and went towards the stairs that led to the fourth floor.

Harry left Ron and Hermione when he jumped on his broom and flew to the library as fast as he could.

There was one problem with the library; it had more than one door. And Harry had to figure out which door Penny would have used to get to Entrance Hall. He ignored all of the northern exits and kept to the southern ones.

But he knew that he was running out of time. He could hear the snake. He could he the desire to kill someone... anyone. And Harry knew that if he was too late a girl would loose her life and Hogwarts would cease to exist. He pushed his broom to its limits hoping that it would be enough.

Harry found her a near the fourth floor girls' bathroom. It was there that he heard the basilisk once more.

"_Kill her... destroy the filth." _

Harry hopped off his broom.

"We have to get out of here!" Just then, the snake came at them. Harry covered the taller girl's eyes and tried to protect her with his body. The snake lunged at them but Harry pulled them both to the ground a few seconds before it was too late.

"What's going on?" Penny screamed.

"I'll explain later," he replied while pulling her toward his broom. "Right now we need to get out of here before that snake comes back."

"Snake? Oh Merlin, you don't think that was a..." She screamed again, when she realized that the danger wasn't passed. The snake went after them again.

"Will you be quiet?" he dragged her to the broom. "Get on and keep your eyes closed." That last demand wasn't that hard to keep because Penny refused to open her eyes.

Harry really didn't know if the snake would follow them but he knew that it was better to be safe than sorry. Penny seemed to think the same thing since she refused to let go of Harry.

Unfortunately for them, it did. The Basilisk went under them and suddenly swiped its tail at them; knocking them both off from the broom. Harry and Penny were both unconscious but not before they heard a hissing.

"_Let's go, they're dead. Master is waiting for us."

* * *

_

When Harry woke next the first thing that he saw was a black a blue blur that he knew was his dad. He stifled a giggle when he saw that he was asleep. He grabbed his glasses and tried to remember what happened that would require Sirius next to his bed. Then he realized that he was in the Hospital Wing.

He looked around and saw that Penelope was curled in a tight, protective ball. She looked scared but otherwise she was fine. He was relieved that she alive but if he had remembered her in the first place she wouldn't be in the Hospital Wing to begin with. He knew that it was his entire fault.

Not two minutes later Sirius was awake. He was surprised to see Harry awake.

"Hi. Am I in trouble?" he looked into Sirius' eyes.

Sirius chuckled softly. "No, you're not in trouble. McGonagall wants to know what happened though. Penelope hasn't said a word since she's been brought in here. Poor child is terrified."

"Wait? Why McGonagall? Why not Dumbledore?" He looked around the room again a realized that the headmaster was no where to be seen.

"Pronglet, Dumbledore left two days ago. The school governors didn't seem to think that he was fit to be headmaster. You knew that this was a possibility.

"Hagrid was taken as well. He's not in Azkaban. I managed to at least to stop that from happening. He's in a cell in the Ministry."

"It seems as though they learned their lesson not to send people to Azkaban without a trial." Harry tried to joke. He looked at Penny again and saw that she hadn't moved a muscle.

"How long have I been here?" He didn't take his eyes off Penny.

"Three days. Everyone was starting to get worried. Hermione, Ron, and Neville have been pestering poor McGonagall to be allowed to see you. That reminds me. I have to go tell Minerva that you're awake." He ruffled Harry's hair and left to get the transfiguration teacher and temporary headmistress, Minerva McGonagall.

Once Sirius was gone, Madam Pomfrey realized that Harry was awake. She was muttering how they should have told her right away. The poor boy did need a checkup after all. Harry just told himself to grin and bear it because he knew that if he complained she would only take longer.

Sirius soon came barreling in with McGonagall at his heals. He wasn't all that surprised to see the look of relief on her face. Harry smiled at her.

"Harry, I glad to see that you are finally awake."

"Hi Professor. So you want to hear what happened three days ago."

"Well that and the reason that you were on the fourth floor when you had a Quidditch game in less than 10 minutes."

Harry contemplated over whether it was safe to finally tell her the whole truth about his past... and his possible future. He decided to feel out her loyalties before he told her.

"Professor, are you in contact with Professor Dumbledore?" He never took his eyes off from her. He knew that his eyes were everyone's weakness... well, almost everyone's. He didn't think that Voldemort would crumble to dust because he looked at him. But McGonagall was compelled to tell him the truth.

"I am but if you ask me not to tell him something I won't. I know that he has no right to know about your personal life. I would be more than honored if you would tell me. I would also respect your decision if you don't."

"I was there because I knew that it was going to happen," Harry confessed.

"You're a Seer?" she asked skeptically.

"No, I'm not a Seer. And I wouldn't want to be a Seer." He took a deep breath. "Professor, I'm from the future. That's how I know when something happens. That's how I know things I'm not supposed to know."

"How can I be sure that I can believe you? I've known you for almost two years and I've never seen any signs that you were nothing more than a normal child." She knew that she was in denial about that but she really didn't care at the moment.

"I could tell you things that there is no way for me to know unless I am who I said I am. I know about the prophecy. The only reason Professor Trelawney is here is because the headmaster is protecting her from the Death Eaters. Thirteen years ago, she made a prophecy about me and Voldemort and she didn't even know it. She doesn't even know that she needs protection."

"I believe you. Merlin, help us all, but I believe you. Now, will you please tell me what happened on Saturday? The headmaster deserves some form of the truth as it did happen in his school." Harry smiled and told her what happened... and some of what will happen. But he didn't tell her everything like he did with Sirius and Remus. He needed to trust that she wouldn't interfere too much and become overprotective.

* * *

It wasn't until almost a week later that Harry was allowed to leave the Hospital Wing. Penelope Clearwater was still in shock and seemed that she would be for a very long time. During that whole time, Harry wasn't allowed any visitors outside his own family and professors. He was really out about this because he really wanted to talk to his friends.

He got the full story of what was going on in Gryffindor Tower that night after dinner. Hermione was in the library soon after the attack on Harry and Penny and found out that it was a Basilisk that was Petrifying the Muggle-borns and refused to go anywhere without a mirror. It took everything in her not to tell everybody when Harry confirmed it.

They also told them about their last visit to Hagrid's hut. He was a little peeved that they went in his trunk without his permission and didn't like that they took his Invisibility Cloak.

When he finally returned to Potions Snape gave him a venomous glare.

He was angry that Harry was able to keep in his class. He took points whenever he could and tried to fail his potion. But everyone could see that it was perfect. It was nearly as good as one of his own... not that he would ever admit that. He would never hear the end of it if he praised the arrogant child. He even let Harry know that he wasn't about to be coddled just because of his brush with death.

"So our _hero _finally decides to show up for class. I expect all of your make-up work to be done by the end of today or you will have detention. And not even your Head of House will be able to get you out of it."

"Professor, I'm already done. It was remarkably easy. If you think I cheated you can ask Professor McGonagall about it. She was the one who got me all he books that I needed. Awfully kind of her to do so, don't you think." Harry smirked at him as he handed him the completed essays. "I really didn't have anything to do but read and do homework while I was in the Hospital Wing."

Harry's other teachers gave him plenty of time to make up his work even though exams were only a few weeks away. Ron was horror-struck that they would still have to do the exams when everything was so chaotic around the castle.

But then again only Harry knew that the exams were going to be cancelled. But that bothered Harry because he was planning to take his O.W.L. in Potions... that is if was allowed.

A/N So, should Harry take his Potions O.W.L.? I want your opinion on this.


	19. Chapter 19 Deep Talks

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter nineteen

It took Harry almost two weeks to convince Hermione that it would be a bad idea to follow any advice that Hagrid gave them. While following the spiders gave them valuable information last time, it also almost got Ron and him killed.

McGonagall did tell Dumbledore an abbreviated version of what Harry told her. She said that Harry had a feeling that something was wrong. The problem with that was now Dumbledore thought he was a Seer. But he knew that he could convince him that it had something to with his scar. It did have to with Voldemort after all. He really didn't like the idea of pretending to be a Seer. It would be easy to get caught in a lie if he managed to change something unintentionally like with what happened with Sirius.

It was the weekend again and Harry still hadn't gotten over his depression about Penny. The teachers told them that she was getting better but it was going slow. The Ravenclaws were grateful for any information about their friend. But it was Percy's behavior that made Harry's stomach go cold. He was acting like the attack wasn't even affecting him. She was his girlfriend after all.

Sirius was worried about Harry. He knew that if he didn't get out of the funk that he was in his magic could be affected. He had seen it happen before. Contrary to popular belief, Azkaban doesn't have any magic suppressant wards. If there were, he wouldn't have been able to turn into Padfoot. No one could do magic there because of depression that the Dementors caused. He shivered at the thought. But right now, Harry was his main concern.

"Harry, can I talk to you for a moment?" Harry followed him up the stairs to one of the cleaner rooms and put up an impervious charm. "Pronglet, I'm really starting to get worried about you. Minerva fire-called me last week and told me that your grades are starting to slip. Is there something you want to tell me? Remember, I won't accept that 'I'm fine' crap."

"I just have a lot on my mind. I really am fine, Dad." But Harry refused to look into his eyes.

"Don't lie to me. You are better than to stoop to that level. Now tell me what's wrong with you." He was angry and Harry knew it.

"I don't know how much more I can take. I haven't changed anything this year. And my selfish desires almost gat someone killed. I almost killed someone just like I killed Cedric. I don't know if I can do this." He was yelling by this point.

"Cedric isn't dead. You can still save him. Penny is going to be fine. You can't control everything. Some things just happen." He tried to soothe Harry's temper by not yelling back

'But it's my fault. I forgot about her."

"Then it's my fault that Lily and James are dead." He finally yelled. "If something that was out of your control is your fault then something that was out of my control is my fault."

"But I did know. I was in control and I forgot. I was selfish..."

"Then so was I. I was so selfish that I wanted to save my best friends' lives. I risked everything so that they could be happy. I was so selfish that I made a mistake

"You can't expect to remember everything that happened during a five year period. You are only human, Harry. You aren't perfect. No one expects you to be." He thought they were past that.

"I know that."

"I know that you know. But do you believe it," he asked.

"I want to but I don't think I can. It's so hard right now. Everything is so mixed up. I mean, I'm seventeen-years-old but I act like I'm kid sometimes. It's so confusing. I don't know how to feel anymore. I don't what to feel about my best friends or..." He stopped talking not know how (or willing) to phrase himself. "How am I supposed to be two different ages for the rest of my life? I was emotionally unstable before but now I'm a complete mess."

"All you really can do is take it one day at a time just like you did before. Don't worry about what you can't control and stop the bad things that you can control. Remember that you aren't alone and have a family that will do anything for you." He pulled Harry into a hug.

"So, do you feel any better, kiddo?" Harry nodded at his adoptive father. "Good let's get back down stairs. You have a lesson you have to get to."

Harry groaned. "I don't see why I still have to take the Animagi lessons. I almost have it down."

"Because I get to see you during our lessons. And when we are done with Animagi lessons I'm going to teach you how to control your wandless magic." He removed the charm and went back downstairs.

"I'm going to have another busy summer, aren't I?" He was looking forward to relaxing a little this year. He really needed it. His family knew that he needed it.

"Actually, I was thinking that we would take a little trip. I'm not sure yet but I want to go somewhere warm and sunny. Someplace that isn't Paris." Harry was a bit confused about the Paris comment but didn't say any thing.

The lesson went on for an hour. Neville was really progressing. He should have the transformation done by the middle of next year. Ron would have it not long before him. But Harry and Hermione...

Harry concentrated as he forced his body to transform. It was slightly painful as his bones shifted and reformed into a canine. So enough Sirius was also in his form and nipped at Harry's triangle-shaped ear. He tried to take a step but he fell over. He growled in annoyance when he saw that everyone was laughing at him. He and Sirius transformed back.

"I'd like to see you try to walk with four legs." Harry turned his nose from them.

"Hermione can," said Neville with a laugh.

"Show off."

Hermione let out a meow and gave them her best haughty glare. The effect was lost because she was a bushy brown cat.

"We have to name her," said Sirius.

"I got one; how about Fluffy." Hermione hissed when Harry said that name. Honestly, she actually liked it but she wasn't one agree immediately.

Harry went back to his wolf-dog form and once again tried to walk. He only managed a few steps before he fell again. And like last time everyone was laughing at him. He transformed back. He waited for everyone to speak up.

"I can't believe that I'm saying this but Sirius will you teach me how to walk." Everyone started to laugh again.

* * *

It was a few days later and Harry was in McGonagall's office. He wanted to see if he could take his Potions O.W.L.'s. He really hated being in Snape's class. That man really didn't have the stuff it takes to be a teacher. He knew Neville would fail that class if he didn't have his and Hermione's help. Heck, even Ron would fail the class without help. Scratch that, anyone who wasn't a Slytherin or Ravenclaw would fail that class the way Snape taught it. Who would blame him if he wanted an out?

"Professor, can I please take my Potions' O.W.L. early? I can't stand that class. I make the best potions and he still finds reasons to fail me." McGonagall put her hand up to stop him mid rant.

"Harry, I can't let you take the exam. There would be too many questions from the Ministry if a twelve-year-old passes the exam, even if he is the Boy-Who-Lived. So my answer is no."

"But professor..." he complained.

"I'm sorry Harry. We will think of something that will make things better for everyone in his class. This is just one of those things that you will have to accept." She really could sympathize with the boy. "We both know that going to the headmaster would be pointless. He refuses to hear a word against the man even though all the Houses but his own has complained about him. I will do everything in my power to get him to behave."

"Do you know why Dumbledore trust Snape so much?"

"I do but I can't tell you." Harry began to protest that he had every right to know but McGonagall stopped him again. "It isn't because I don't wish to tell you. I foolishly agreed to an Unbreakable Vow of Silence. If I tell anyone, I would die instantly. I didn't know what I was agreeing to when I made the Vow. I regret that I made it sometimes."

"You probably didn't have a choice but to make the promise. He wouldn't have a problem with using a Memory Charm on someone. But the problem with that is that Memory Charms can be broken. When they are the person's mind can be destroyed. Dumbledore respects you enough to prevent that."

"I wish I knew when he went wrong. I remember him from when I was a girl. I was barely in my twenties when he defeated Grindelwald. I knew that he was a Light Wizard through and through but now, he's nothing more than a Grey Wizard. He a good man; he's just imprudent in his ways. I will follow him in war but I will always second guess his decisions when it comes to the students' personal lives, especially after what he did to you."

"I really needed to hear that. I won't deny that he's a leader. He just needs to set his priorities straight. I don't hate him but I don't want him in my life.

"I'll talk to you later. I have to get down to Potions. Snape will wring my neck if I'm late again" He saw the teacher's lips go thin. It was a joke professor. He'll just give me a detention with Lockhart. That'll torture me more than any class with Snape. He doesn't even look at teacher's notes from me."

A/N I know that more of you wanted Harry to take the exam but I had to have something that Harry asks for that doesn't go his way.


	20. Chapter 20 In the Chamber

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter Twenty

The next two weeks were a complete blur to Harry. After his talked with Sirius, Harry's grades rose to what they were before the incident with the basilisk. He really didn't care about his grades right now because in a few days time Ginny will be taken into the Chamber of Secrets.

He told McGonagall what happened the first time. At first, she refused to let Harry go down there. Then she realized that Harry was the only one who could save the school. She knew she should have known better. This was Harry Potter after all.

She wished that she could go to Miss Weasley and take the diary from her but she didn't know how the girl would react to it. His soul was in the poor girl's body according to Harry. She didn't know whether Miss Weasley would be violent or not.

She didn't know who to feel sorrier for.

While McGonagall was thinking of ways to help Harry, Harry was in his dorm preparing for his upcoming adventure. He wasn't sure if he would if he should bring Ron and Lockhart with him. He KNEW that he couldn't bring Hermione. She wouldn't last a minute if Riddle knew who she was.

He knew that he had to act as normally as possible. But that was nearly impossible when he felt like he was going to be attacked from all sides. He spent most of his time in the Room of Requirements working on his sword play with a dummy. He swore that they were getting harder and harder to defeat. He knew that the workouts were getting longer each day. But then again, he was growing more frustrated each day.

Instead of going to Ron or Hermione to talk to, he found himself searching for Luna. She was truly wise beyond her years, even at twelve. One she actually followed him to the Room of Requirements and to his surprise; it looked like a Muggle physicist office.

"I like watching Muggle movies. When I was little Mum would always take me to town to watch them. So far, I like 'The Little Mermaid' the best. Though, it is a bit historically inaccurate. Arial looked nothing like she did in the film." Harry had no clue what she was talking about just nodded his head and sat on the red leather couch. Luna was in the chair.

"But I have a feeling that you have a lot on your mind. I know that your friends are worried about you. Is there something that you want to tell me?" Her dreamy look seemed to burrow into his own eyes.

"Do you ever feel like something bad is going to happen but you can't do anything about it?"

"Sometimes. Like when Mum died. I had a strong feeling that something was going to happen to her. Why do you ask? And why not ask Ron or Hermione? They are your best friends."

"Yeah, they are. Though, sometimes it's easier to talk to someone you aren't as close to. You are my friend Lu; never forget that. Ginny is going be hurt soon."

"I feel it too. But you know it in a different way. I don't know how though. There's something different about your aura. It's older than it should be."

"Er..."

"I won't tell anyone. Anyway, who would believe me? Seeing auras is a very rare gift. Even rarer than the one Hermione has."

Harry decided to ignore that comment about Hermione for now. Auras seemed to be more fascinating. She was about to ask her about them when he heard an announcement that all students were to return to their Common Rooms.

'_It's too early. Ginny isn't supposed to be taken for another three days!'_ Harry thought as he and Luna ran back to their Tower. Harry was confused as to how this could have happened. He had everything down on the right dates that it was supposed to happen. He bought a calendar for crying out loud.

It was mere minutes later when McGonagall came in and told them what happened. Ginny was lured into the Chamber of Secrets. She looked at Harry before she left the Common Room. He noticed that she was trying very hard not to cry in front of her cubs. Harry went after her without any protest from the other students.

"Professor, Ginny is still alive as far as I know. I will save her no matter what. It might be a little harder than the last time but I will do it. But I need you to answer a few questions." She nodded. "Is Lockhart still in the castle?"

She shook her head. "He left on some urgent mission ten minutes ago. And thank Merlin for that. He was nothing more than a pretty-boy. Even when he was a student, he didn't do much."

"Will anyone stop me from going into the Chamber?"

"No. I will tell everyone that we are closing the school. That should keep everyone away. And Harry..." She paused for a moment. "Good luck."

Harry went back to the Common Room and found his friends. They were in the corner trying to comfort Ron, as he was closet to Ginny.

"She's still alive Ron," Harry said when he approached them.

"How can you be so sure? There's a Basilisk down there with her."

"Because I have faith in her will to live. Ginny, as far as I can tell, is very strong and a very powerful witch. It'll take more than a snake to take her down. But right now we have to save her."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Hermione. "We don't even know where the entrance to the Chamber is."

"But we do know. Think about it. The girl who died fifty years ago was killed in the bathroom. The diary told me that much. What if she never left the bathroom? What if it was Myrtle?"

"You can't be serious about that. Why didn't you say anything sooner?" asked Neville.

"I wasn't sure if I could tell. McGonagall just gave me permission." Harry hoped that they believed him. Fortunately, they did.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get going."

"Wait! You're not coming 'Mi." Harry stood to make his point.

"Why not?" Hermione also stood though she was a good three centimeters shorter.

"You wouldn't last two minutes in the Chamber of Secrets."

"What do you mean by that?" She had an angry glint in her eyes.

Neville interrupted the discussion. "Hermione, you are a Muggle-Born. Harry is right. You need to stay here. Besides, someone needs to stay and comfort the twins. They may have picked on her, but they do love her."

"Fine, I'll stay. Though, I don't like this one bit. And I have every right to go on the next adventure whether it's safe for me or not, is that understood?" The three boys and Luna nodded.

"We all can't go. Ron and Luna you're with me. Neville, I want you to guard Hermione to make sure that she keeps her promise." Hermione was a little taken back by that comment because Harry knew her so well. Harry gave her a hug before they left and whispered in her ear. "I'll be fine 'Mi, I promise. Contact my dad. He deserves to know." He handed her the mirror and told her how to work it.

As they were promised, they didn't run into anyone. Harry was worried tha they would run into Flitch how would be looking for who took Ginny.

He had Luna stand outside to be 'lookout'. Truthfully, he just didn't want her to know that he was a Parselmouth, though she probably already knew about it.

"Luna, I think you should stay in here. Ron and I will go into the Chamber. Try to block the entrance so if the Basilisk tries to escape it won't be able to. Make sure that we can get out though. If you hear anything, close your eyes or look into a mirror." Luna nodded and began to use her Ravenclaw knowledge that he knew she had.

The boys jumped into the pipe and slide down it. Harry did a quick Scourgify on the two of them and they cast lumos. They went a bet further when Harry came up with an idea. He just had to convince Ron to go along with it.

"I need your wand."

"What? Why can't you use your own?"

"I need him to think that I'm unarmed."

"Who?" Ron was confused.

"Tom Riddle. I can feel him. I can feel the evil of this place. It's so strong that it's nearly choking me. Ginny is alive but she is very weak. But I need your wand. She doesn't have hers." Ron reluctantly handed over his wand. Harry took a deep breath. "You should stay here. If I'm not back in an hour, go back and tell Luna. Then get professor McGonagall."

"Stay safe Harry. Hermione would kill me if you died." Ron was trying to joke but his heart wasn't in it. "Seriously though, good luck and don't get killed."

"You too, mate." Harry turned to leave wishing that he could take Ron the rest of the way, but it was too dangerous if he went without a wand. He hissed at the snake carvings and entered the large chamber. It was show time.

"Ginny!" he raced toward and dropped Ron's wand. "Ginny, wake up please. Ginny, please be alright." He shook her but he knew that she wouldn't wake until the diary was destroyed.

"She won't wake."

Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, was standing right in front of him holding a wand that had the unicorn tail hair nearly poking out. Strangely enough, Harry wasn't afraid.

"Let her go, Tom." Harry glare would have killed if the... _thing_... in front of him were alive.

"So, you know who I am. Bravo, Harry, you are an intelligent one." His cold voice was mocking him. "But no, I won't be letting Ginny go. I wait far too long for this."

"Your time was a long time ago. This is Ginny's time. She deserves to live; not a parasite like you. Yes, I know exactly who you are. You are dirt, a murderer. You are Voldemort and a weak version at that. I suppose Ginny told you all about me. She told you how I beat you. She told you that I survived. And you know what; I will continue to survive because I refuse to fall to the likes of you. You don't scare me. You will never scare me."

"Are you done? I am strong. I am the strongest wizard to have ever passed through Hogwarts. And look at your precious Dumbledore. He was removed by the mere memory of me," Tom snarled.

"You are not the strongest. There are students going through Hogwarts right now that are stronger than you are. My Mum and Dad bested you three times before they fell. I bested you when I was just a baby because my mother loved me. Yet you don't understand what love is, do you?

"I will remain loyal to Hogwarts. Dumbledore or no Dumbledore, I won't let it fall and I won't let you take Ginny's life." Just then, Harry heard phoenix song. So he came because he was loyal to the school, not because he was loyal to Dumbledore. He would never be loyal to him. Fawkes dropped the Sorting Hat at Harry's feet.

"Enough! Let's see just how strong you are." He turned and called for the Basilisk. Harry immediately closed his eyes.

"Fawkes, blind him." The Basilisk was quickly blinded. While Fawkes was busy with the king of snakes, Harry was pulling a rather beautiful sword out of the Sorting Hat. Harry did wonder why he didn't get to keep the sword the first time but that wasn't important at the moment. Luckily, the sword didn't land on Harry's head this time. The sword of Gryffindor was in his left hand while his wand was in his right. Harry shot some spells at it be they were all reflected off as though it were dragon's hide.

He heard Riddle tell the snake to kill him. Then Harry got another idea.

"_Why do you listen to him? He isn't even alive." Harry hissed at the snake._

"_Master Slytherin told me to wait for the heir. I do as Master wishes me too."_

"_Yet he has blood of a Muggle in him. Slytherin's heir was to be a pure wizard, one who was untainted. You lived a love life in these Chambers. You served no master for too long to start now. We humans call you the king of serpents. You should live up to that title."_

"_You are right young speaker. I shall serve myself even though I can no longer see."_

The snake was about to leave when Harry shot one last spell the snake's eyes. The powerful stunner killed the Basilisk as its head exploded. Harry and Ginny were both covered in snake brains. Harry was completely grossed by that.

"I didn't mean to kill it." Then Fawkes dropped the diary in front of Harry. Harry quickly put his wand in his pocket and stabbed the diary with the sword. Riddle was gone and Ginny was once again awake.

All was well in Hogwarts for another year.

A/N This not done yet. Harry still has to have his yearly talk with Dumbledore. Plus, I have a few other things planned.


	21. Chapter 21 A Hard Choice

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter Twenty-one

Harry went back to where he left Ron all the while he was supporting Ginny. She was lighter than what he remembered but he might have been stronger this time. He tried to comfort the girl who was crying and mumbling how she was going to be expelled. He stopped before he got to the door that led to where he left Ron.

"Ginny, none of this was your fault. You had no idea what would happen when you wrote in that diary. If you need to talk to someone just let me know because I'll be there for you."

He opened the door and Ron threw himself at his sister. He didn't even notice Fawkes or Gryffindor's sword until Ginny pulled herself out of his arms. She was still crying but Harry seemed to convince her that she wasn't going to be expelled.

They took a few steps before Ron spoke again.

"Umm... Harry where's my wand?"

"I kinda... lost it... in a big puddle... and the Basilisk landed on it. I'm sorry Ron I promise to buy you a new one over the summer."

"What am I supposed to do about my exams? Mum is going to freak when she finds out. There's no way that she is going to let you buy me a new one."

"We should probably get up to the surface before we discuss this. I bet McGonagall is with your parents and my dad. They are panicking just about now."

"Just one question; how are we getting back up the pipe?" asked Ron.

"Fawkes can carry us. He's a phoenix and can bear large loads." Harry grabbed hold of Fawkes tail and Ron; while Ron took hold of Ginny all the while doubting that the great bird could really lift all three of them. However, he was amazed when he felt his feet left the ground.

The flight only took a few minutes because of all the weight they didn't have because they didn't have Lockhart dragging them down.

He wasn't surprised to see that Luna ran to huge them all. He was surprised that he was hugged the longest. He hoped that Luna wasn't developing a crush on him; he wasn't sure that it would be a good idea to get involved with someone when he was five or six years older than them. He knew that he had to wait and see how he felt when he was ready for a relationship, or rather when his friends were ready.

They followed Fawkes to McGonagall's office. Things went pretty much to same as the first in terms of the Weasley parents' reunion with their only daughter. Ginny curled up next to her mum on the couch.

Harry didn't see Sirius, Remus, or Tonks through all the red hair until everything began to settle down. He flung himself into Sirius' arms. He didn't know if they would come right away, but now that he thought about it, that was foolish to believe.

When Sirius let him go, he set the diary and Sorting Hat on Dumbledore's desk but he kept the sword at his side. He felt that as Gryffindor's heir it was rightfully his. Fawkes landed on his shoulder and not on Dumbledore's.

So he started his story. Well an abbreviated version of the last ten months mixed with all that he knew from his first Second Year. He even told them about the Tom Riddles' diary since he knew that it wouldn't get Ginny into any trouble. The Weasleys were confused as to why Tom would enchant the diary. Before Dumbledore could reply, Harry answered for him.

"Tom Riddle was a student here fifty years ago. He became Lord Voldemort by using an anagram," the Weasleys and Sirius were confused, "a word or phrase spelled by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase. Tom Marvolo Riddle, a half-blood, used his name to spell out 'I am Lord Voldemort'. The Headmaster here knew the whole time but seems to have failed to mention that anyone."

Dumbledore just sighed. "It's true. Voldemort was a student here. I just never thought that it was important to tell the Wizarding World who he is. It was more important for him so be defeated. Now, would you please take your daughter to the Hospital Wing? The students will be un-petrified in a few days. I need to speak to the children."

The Weasleys except for Ron left the office. He also sent McGonagall out of the room to tell the kitchens that they should begin to prepare for a feast.

"Mr. Potter (Harry glowered when the Headmaster refused to add Black to his name), Mr. Weasley, and Miss Lovegood, I am deeply impressed with what you did for the school. I give each of you Special Awards Services to the school and two hundred points to Gryffindor."

"I don't want the award. I'll take the points But Voldemort was awarded for the same thing. I don't want it."

"Harry..."

"Don't call me that!" Harry snarled.

"Mr. Potter, Riddles' award will be striped from him."

"What about Hagrid? Will he be allowed to continue his education?"

"Miss Lovegood, Mr. Weasley, I wish to speak to Harry alone. Would you please go down to the Great Hall? I believe Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom are worried about you." The two left after giving Harry curious glances.

"Mr. Potter, Hagrid was expelled for having an Acromantula hidden in the school." Dumbledore began.

"I have done much worse and not even get a detention for it." He felt a hand on his shoulder. He realized that he was standing. _When did that happen?_

"Professor," said Sirius, "I'm not sure if I'm going to let Harry come back next year." Tonks and Remus gasped at him. They didn't know that he was thinking of doing that. "Both years he's been here, he's been put into mortal peril. I don't want to see my son hurt."

"Sirius, you can't do that. Harry needs his education."

"And he will get one. Tonks, Remus, and I aren't exactly idiots. We can teach them unless you can come up with a way to protect him. Let's go Harry."

Harry wasn't sure if Sirius was being sincere when he said that he wasn't coming back. But all that was pushed from his mind when he was pushed back into Sirius by Lucius Malfoy. Dobby was at his heals trying to polish his shoes.

"Good evening, Lucius." Dumbledore smiled up at him.

"So! You've come back..." He snarled until Harry interrupted him.

"Yes, I guess the School Governors thought he was best for the job... for the time being."

He ignored the boy like he was ignoring the elf.

"Have you stopped the attacks?" asked Malfoy.

"Yes."

"It was Voldemort." Harry put in again.

Dumbledore went on to say the same speech he did the last time. Harry was bored and was using the time to admire the sword. He only looked up when he heard the door slam again; signaling that Malfoy and Dobby had left. Without a word, he took the diary and ran after Malfoy, pulling a sock off and stuffing the diary into it. He caught up with them quickly.

"Mr. Malfoy I thought that you might like this back."

He jammed the diary into his hand. The plan worked exactly as it had last time. Mr. Malfoy threw the sock and Dobby caught it. But this time he didn't need Dobby to protect him. He pulled out the sword and was surprised too see that it was glowing red.

"I don't think so. A giant snake couldn't kill me, what makes you so sure that you could?" Harry smirked at him. Malfoy put his wand away and left with a billow of a cloak.

Harry sensed Sirius and the others coming up behind him.

"Dad, since Kreacher is getting a bit old, do you think we could hire Dobby? I think it would be a good investment in the future."

"Are you sure Pronglet? Dobby did almost kill you... more than once actually."

"Sirius, you could use the help around the house," Tonks said.

"Fine. But if he almost kills Harry again I'll have to get rid of him."

The four of them went up to Gryffindor Tower to get his stuff. He was stunned to see Hermione was still there while his other friends went to the feast. She quickly pulled him into a hug. Harry was the first to step back but he was still holding her arms.

"Why aren't you in the Great Hall?"

"I couldn't go down there not knowing whether you were ok or not. I so worried about you Harry. I understand why you went without me but I never want you to leave me ever again." She let out a sob.

"Hermione, Dad is pulling me from school early. He said that he might not let me come back next year because I keep getting into trouble."

Hermione rounded on Sirius after the proclamation.

"You have to let him come back. I- we need him here. I mean who else is going to compete with me for top grades in Gryffindor. No, I won't let you take him."

"My decision isn't final yet. If don't let him come back we will arrange something so that you can still see each other. I'm not mean enough to steal him away from his friends. The three of us will go upstairs so you can have a proper goodbye." The three for them (Dobby was already at Grimmauld Place) went upstairs.

"I don't want you to go." Hermione was teary-eyed.

"And you that I do? We will see each other. I'll learn how the Apparate if I have to," Harry joked.

"I'll hold you to that promise." She smiled back hesitantly. "I'm going to miss you Harry. You are the best friend I could ever hope for." She hugged him again. He never wanted to let him go.

"I'll miss you too. Tell the others that I left. I don't think I can face them now." Without thinking, he kissed her cheek. He didn't even realize his family was standing at the foot of the stairs until he heard someone clear their throat.

"How bout we get together with your parents when you get back to London. I haven't seen them since Christmas." Sirius smirked at Harry.

They shrunk his trunk and walked out of Gryffindor Tower. With one last glance back, Harry was gone.

A/N. That's the end of "Return of the Second Chance'. I want to thank all those who have reviewed my story.


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